Fragile
by RegretfulDragon
Summary: It was something to protect, to love. Something worth living for. It was precious. Yet Primus just isn't fair. Rated for: mech smut in later chapters, mpreg, and sensitive topic matter in the first couple of chapters.
1. Precious Treasure

A/N: Well, this is an idea that's been bugging me for a while, and I finally got around to writing it. I have yet to see a fic where Prowl and Bumblebee have a sparkling. Well, I've seen one but the focus was mainly on another couple. If anyone deserves kids, it's those two, but I'm not gonna make it easy for them I'm simply too evil. 8D I'm still working on the smut story where they get together, in case anyone's wondering. I started it three months ago, and--sadly-- the inspiration for it died a few weeks ago. So it's been hell just trying to finish that.

Now, I don't wanna keep ya here forever so allow me to say one last thing. All chapters are written to a theme from the 100 theme challenge. I figure that'll help move things along, but I could be wrong. :shrug: Anyway, enjoy the fluff. For now.

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_**36. Precious Treasure**_

There was a faint whir as the black and gold mech's systems sluggishly came online. Messages flashed across his HUD, reporting normal systems function save for a small warning that said he hadn't had enough recharge. When he checked his chronometer, he was surprised to find that, by Earth time, it was 4:00 a.m. Too early even for him. What had roused from his stasis?

The sound of mech purging his tanks drew his attention to the other side of the room where the little yellow bot was bent over the waste bin by his desk. Concerned, Prowl slid off the berth and crossed the room to kneel beside his mate. He gently laid one servo on the scout's back and rubbed it soothingly. Bumblebee's vents heaved as he drew in short intakes of air between purges. When it seemed to finally pass, he wiped whatever partially processed energon was left on his mouth before leaning back into Prowl. The ninja-bot wrapped his arms around the beetle in a loose embrace, just in case he had to purge again.

"Are you alright, Bumblebee?" He asked gently, concern and worry coloring his voice. Bumblebee groaned and turned just enough so that he could bury his faceplate into Prowl's chassis.

"Yea. I'm fine," He murmured, obviously exhausted, "Sorry. Didn't mean to wake ya."

"Don't apoligize. You were purging your tanks and rather violently at that. Of course I was going to wake up." Bumblebee made a small noise that might've been a complaint and shuttered his optics, trying to go back into stasis in Prowl's arms. Prowl might've allowed this if he wasn't so concerned for bondmate's health. He was constantly tired even though he was recharging normally every night, and he didn't want to play games with Sari or race as much as he used to. This little episode now just added to the list of his worries, "How long?"

"Hm?" The scout onlined his optics part-way, dazed and tired.

"How long have you been purging like this?" He knew from Prowl's tone he couldn't just brush it off and tell him he was fine. The older mech would push the issue until Bumblebee told him the truth. Venting a sigh, Bumblebee wrapped one arm around Prowl's chassis, leaving the other in his lap.

"A few days. It's nothing, really."

"It is not nothing. How come I'm only finding this out now?" Bumblebee winced. Now, Prowl was angry. Or was that disappointment -he felt across their bond? He wasn't sure. He was too tired to really think clearly.

"Because it's been happening in my room, and it's never this Primus-damned early. Can we just go back to bed?" Prowl sighed. None of others, except for Sari, knew the two were bonded so, for now, they tried to make it look like they still slept in separate rooms. Most nights started off with Bumblebee recharging in Prowl's room--and only after an intense interfacing session--and before dawn, the scout would wake and sneak back to his room for his last few hours of stasis. To think Bumblebee had been this ill for the past few days without telling him disappointed him. Finally sensing this, the yellow bug mewled quietly as he snuggled as close as he could to the older, "Sorry. I just didn't want to worry you."

"And how do you think I feel now? You're going to Ratchet in the morning. No exceptions."

"Fine," Bumblebee huffed, sick of the arguement even though it had barely started, "As long as I get to go back to stasis, I don't care." He buried his faceplate into the crook of Prowl's neck and shuttered his optics once again. He had no intention of getting back up. Prowl let a small smile cross his faceplates as he gathered the sub-compact into his arms and carried him back over to the berth. He was deep in reharge before the ninja even laid him on the berth. Still smiling, Prowl stretched himself beside Bumblebee, wrapped his arms around his waist, and fell into recharge.

_0000_

When Bumblebee came back online, he was rather shocked to find that he was still in Prowl's berth, and he was alone. What was more, it was already eleven in the morning. Groaning, he sat up slowly, holding his helm in one hand, his mid-driff with the other. His tanks were churning unpleasantly, and he was a little afraid he was going to purge again. Inwardly, he cursed at how late he'd slept in. Normally, he was up around nine, but ever since the morning purging had started, he'd been 'sleeping in' later than usual. He was getting just a little bit sick of it.

After a few kliks, the nauseating feeling in his tanks disappeared, and he deemed it safe to stand up. Bumblebee slid off the berth and stood up as straight as he could. Before a dizzying sensation in his processor forced him to his knee joints, one arm wrapping around his abdomen. The other servo was planted firmly on the floor to keep his faceplate from hitting it. He had little to no warning besides a violent lurch of his tanks before he purged whatever was left in them from the night before. _'Great. Prowl's gonna kill me.' _Taking a moment to even out his intakes, he tentatively stood back up. The dizziness that had overtaken him before threatened to come again, but it faded a moment later. When his tanks finally settled, he stepped over the small pool of energon and headed for the door. _'Prowl's right. I really do need to see Ratchet.'_

Bumblebee thanked Primus that the hallway was clear as he made his way out of Prowl's room and towards the medbay. He passed the doorway opening into the main room and noted where everyone was at. Optimus sat at the monitors, watching for any sign of trouble. Bulkhead was in the far corner, working on another painting, his optic ridges furrowed in concentration. Sari was playing video games, though they weren't the same as they used to be. Her tastes in games, music, movies and such had changed after her upgrade. Prowl was nowhere to be seen. Shrugging, Bumblebee tried to continue on without being seen, but Sari had noticed him and promptly jumped off the couch to run towards him.

"Hey, Bee! Bout time you got up. I've been waiting all morning." Placing her hands on her hips, she flashed him an expectant smile, obviously waiting for his excuse. Try as he might, he couldn't muster up the playful aura he normally held when offering some odd reason or another and gave her an apologetic smile.

"Sorry. I've not been feeling too well." Her smile fell, puzzlement crossing her face.

"You guys can get sick?" From the monitors, Optimus chuckled.

"Not in the human sense, Sari, but we can get viruses in our systems that sometimes mimic human illness. Glitches or abnormalities with our sparks can cause this, too."

"Really?" Ignoring Bumblebee for the moment, Sari went over to Prime to continue her 'lesson'. Bumblebee was grateful for the distraction as his tanks gave another small lurch. He continued on his way to the medbay without waiting for Sari or Prime to ask questions. But something Optimus had said stuck with him. Something about abnormalities with the spark As far as he knew(and according to his last check-up with Ratchet), his spark was perfectly healthy. There shouldn't have been anything to worry about. Still, he couldn't deny that since this had all began, his spark chamber had been feeling a size too small, which was odd, and it did worry him. That was the one thing he hadn't told Prowl and had no intention to.

Bumblebee finally reached the medbay doors and hesitantly opened them. Ratchet sat at his desk, tinkering with his old war wound. Several medical tools lay flat out on one of the berths, making Bumblebee cringe slightly. Ratchet was expecting him. _'Thanks, Prowl.'_ The old medic seemed to realize he wasn't alone anymore and turned to face the younger bot.

"Bout time you got here," The war veteran huffed. Bumblebee gave a tired smile, shrugging. Ratchet vented a sigh. "But I guess I should've expected it. Prowl told me you'd been purging early mornings. Never seen the kid so worried 'bout ya." An optic ridge went up causing the yellow mech to tense.

"Well, I might've worried Optimus and Sari when I mentioned it a few kliks ago." It was a weak excuse, but Ratchet didn't comment on it and instead motioned for him to take his place on the berth. Sighing, Bumblebee laid on the berth and let the medic finish setting up his equipment. He really hoped he wasn't going to get some drawn out lecture when Ratchet discovered what was wrong with him. Ratchet dragged a machine over to the berth that Bumblebee recognized as his internal scanner. He opened a panel on the side of Bumblebee's chassis, revealing a medical access port. Hooking the sub-compact up to the scanner, Ratchet typed in a command and activated the machine. Bumblebee felt a small tingling shock go through his circuits as the machine scanned his systems, looking for any sign of a virus or contamination.

After a few astroseconds, the machine finished its scan and displayed the results to Ratchet. The medic's optic ridges raised as his optics widened. Bumblebee didn't know whether to be curious or worried. Ratchet moved away from the machine and came over to the side of the berth.

"Open your sparkchamber, Bumblebee." The medic's curious tone did little to relax the younger, but he complied, opening his chestplate and disengaging the locks on his sparkchamber. For a few nanokliks, Ratchet merely studied the pulsing blue orb, as if looking for something. Finally, a smile crossed his faceplate and looked at Bumblebee, "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say Prowl's the father." It took a few moments for Bumblebee to fully process the statement, but when he did, his optics widened to a comical degree.

"Whaddya mean, 'Prowl's the father'?!" It was practically a shriek, and Ratchet was surprised the others didn't come running. Then again, he had soundproofed his medbay for a reason.

"Well, correct me if I'm wrong, Bumblebee, but isn't it usually bondmates that have sparklings?" Mouth falling open in shock, Bumblebee looked down at his still open sparkchamber. There, connected to his own spark by thin, whispy threads of energy, was the tiny spark Ratchet claimed was sharing his chamber. Wide optics softened at the sight, and a small smile pulled at Bumblebee's mouth. Then, the full meaning of Ratchet's words sank in, and he looked at him, surprised and slightly embarrassed.

"You knew? About me and Prowl?" Rachet couldn't help the chuckle that left his vocal capacitor.

"I've had my suspicions for awhile, and I can't believe the others haven't noticed. You don't prank him near as much you used to, and the times you do, Prowl doesn't threaten to slag ya," Moving to put the machine away, he looked back over his shoulder, "Not very subtle, kid." Bumblebee's faceplate heated, turning away so the medic couldn't see it. Ratchet chuckled again and began putting away the tools he had thought he was going to need. He figured now was the time to get serious with the soon-to-be 'mother'. "Alright, Bumblebee. Listen up. The purgings are going to go on for about another two weeks." The young mech groaned and held his mid-driff at the thought. "Refuel and recharge as often as you need to. The little one is going to take a lot out of you, that I can promise. No racing, no rough housing, and I'm going to remove your stingers and your jet boosters."

"What? Why?"

"Because the energy that needs to be going to the sparkling is going to your mods, and that's dangerous for both of you." Bumblebee visibly cringed and nodded, closing his chestplates and resuming his original position on the berth. The medic got to work, removing the mods from Bumblebee's frame. Once he was done, he let the yellow mech sit up and stretch, his arms feeling three times lighter than before. He turned to ask Ratchet a question, but the medic already seemed to know what he was going to say, "You're about a week and half along. Now, I don't need to tell you that you can't go on patrols anymore so when exactly are you going to tell Prime and the others about this?" Bumblebee slapped his palm against his forehead. He'd forgotten about them. The discovery of the sparkling had taken most of his attention.

"I don't know. I should really talk to Prowl about it first. Where is he by the way?"

"Where else?" Ratchet's optic ridge went up in a sarcastic manner, a slight smirk on his faceplates. Bumblebee smiled, thanked the medic, and left. Ratchet vented a sigh once the doors slid shut. Something about the sparkling was troubling him, but he didn't know what it was. It seemed perfectly healthy and yet it seemed just slightly smaller than it should've been and paler than most sparklings he'd seen. Maybe it was the experience that came from years of being a medic, most of which was spent in the field during the Great War, but he couldn't get rid of this awful feeling in the back of his CPU. It was almost like a prememinition. i_'I hope to Primus I'm wrong...'/i_

_0000_

Under the canopy of leaves, surrounded by the quiet sounds of nature, it was somewhat easy for Prowl to let go of his worries. While he felt bad about simply leaving Bumblebee to come meditate in the forest, he knew the yellow mech would know where to find him. Primus knows he'd tried to meditate there in the room if only to watch after his bondmate, but the distant honking of vehicles stuck on the on-ramp and siren wail of a lone police cruiser had kept him from doing so. The forest was his refuge, and Bumblebee knew this. Prowl wasn't worried that Bumblebee would skip his meeting with Ratchet. He'd been caught and knew the cyberninja wouldn't let him know peace until the problem was figured out. That, and he'd also informed Ratchet of Bumblebee's illness and to be expecting him to come by.

He was partially snapped out of his meditation by a slight pull on his spark, followed by Bumblebee's estatic, chirpy voice _:I'm on my way!:_ There was an unusual excitement to Bumblebee's tone, but when Prowl tried to pry further, he discovered that he'd blocked his side of the bond. Whatever had Bumblebee that estatic, he wanted to tell Prowl in person so he had no choice but to wait and wonder. It wasn't long before the sound of screeching tires and a transformation sequence engaging filled his audios. Onlining his optics, he turned to stand but before he could even kneel on one knee joint, he was tackled to the ground by a blur of yellow and black. The surprised 'oof!' he'd made with the impact was drowned out by a pair of lips covering his own.

Surprised, Prowl wrapped his arms around the beetle's waist and pulled him closer as he returned the kiss, optics dimming again. The small engine was revving so softly it was almost a purr. He didn't know what had Bumblebee in such a good mood, but he wasn't going to waste it. With his own engine's quiet revving, he reached his servo up to gently stroke one of the little yellow horns, alternating between feather-light touches to gentle pressure. Muffled moans of pleasure were swallowed by the ninja-bot who moved his other servo down to grope Bee's aft. Bumblebee gasped into the kiss, allowing Prowl the chance to slip his glossa past his lips and explore the warm, wet cavern. There was a faint, bitter taste still present on Bumblebee's glossa, and Prowl aburptly broke the kiss, leaving the other confused.

"You purged again this morning, didn't you?" As expected, Bumblebee's faceplates heated. He diverted his optics away from the other's.

"Yeah. Sorry about the floor, but it kinda took me by surprise."

"Did you go to see Ratchet?" Prowl asked, choosing to ignore the mental image of his floor stained with purged energon. Bumblebee nodded, a huge smile dominating his faceplate. It couldn't have been too serious for him to be smiling like that. "And......?"

"I don't know if I should tell you or show you." There was that excitement again. Prowl's optic ridges furrowed in confusion. Leaning back, Bumblebee let the older mech sit up. Prowl stared intently at the beetle, waiting for a proper answer to his question. Bumblebee fidgeted, pressing his fingers together, before a soft smile broke out onto the pale gray faceplate. "I'm carrying." Prowl's processor stopped right in its tracks. Had he heard right?

"C-care to repeat that?" Bumblebee giggled at Prowl's uncharacteristic stammer, the bewildered expression never leaving his face. Deciding the ninja-bot was going to need a visual to believe the words, he allowed his to chestplates split and retract, revealing the two sparks beneath. Behind the ice blue visor, Prowl's optics widened at the sight of the tiny blue spark next to Bumblebee's own.

"I'm carrying your sparkling. Do you need the human expression, too? I'm pregnant." Prowl continued to stare, mouth agape, even as Bumblebee's words finally sank into his processor. A sparkling, their sparkling. A new life created from the combined essence of both their sparks. It was something to protect, to love. Something worth living for. It was precious. After a few cycles, a gentle smile found its way onto the dark grey faceplate. Bumblebee smiled back, leaning forward to give the motorcycle another kiss. Prowl returned it, aware of the still open chassis in front of his own. When they pulled away, Bumblebee nuzzled his faceplate into Prowl's neck, "I take it you're happy?"

"Beyond," Was Prowl's reply, gently rubbing the yellow back. There was a slight hiss as Bumblebee's chestplates closed with a quiet click. They sat in silence for a moment, simply enjoying each other's presence and that of their sparkling's. Prowl felt across their bond, trying to sense the tiny spark. He was rewarded with a few small pulses of affection. A delighted hum left Prowl's vocals, "I do believe I've been forgiven."

"What makes you say that?" Bumblebee asked, pulling away to stare questioningly at his bondmate.

"I honestly didn't think I was deserving of a family after what happened with Master Yoketron and the protoforms," Bumblebee opened his mouth to retort, to tell Prowl he'd make a wonderful father, but the dark mech stopped him, "Even with that terrible incident in my past, Primus has granted me the chance to have a wonderful life. A beautiful bondmate, a sparkling on the way. What more can I ask for?" At this, a huge smile split Bumblebee's faceplate. He wrapped his arms around Prowl's torso and buried his face into the black chassis. Prowl wrapped his own arms around the scout sitting in his lap, whispering in his audios, "I promise to protect you both." Prodding the bond again, he felt the loving pulses coming from the two sparks within the yellow chassis. Returning a few of his own, Prowl sighed, completely content.

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Awwwwww. Wasn't that sweet? My attempt at writing a sparkling story. Let's see how it goes, shall we?


	2. Misfortune

A/N: God, this chapter suffers. It started off so rocky that it affected the rest of the chapter. Work, college, and problems in RL didn't help it either. This is so getting rewrote when summer comes. For now, try to enjoy the general idea behind this. For I fail. =_=;

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**13. Misfortune**

"Ratchet, I'm worried."

"You're always worried, kid."

"It's about Bumblebee."

"You're always worried about him, too."

"I'm serious, Ratchet."

"So am I." Prowl vented a very annoyed and frustrated sigh. The conversation was going absolutely nowhere. Ratchet sat where he was, still tending to his old war wound, partially turned to face the ninja. Sensing the glare aimed at the side of his helm, the ambulance sighed and finally turned to look at him. There was a disapproving scowl on the ninja-bot's faceplate. Ratchet sighed, "Prowl, you've been in here everyday for the past week asking questions."

"This is important. It's about the purgings." Ratchet rolled his optics before fixing Prowl with an exsasperated stare. How many times was he going to have to tell this mech?

"I told you that was normal."

"Violently? Four or five times a day? He's complained of his intake hurting, and it's getting worse each day." That caught Ratchet's attention. His memory cache provided him with the image of the small, pale sparkling, and his worries for it were pushed to the surface once more. He racked his processor, trying to come up with a quick response but nothing came. Seeing that he had his attention, Prowl continued, "That's not normal, Ratchet." The medic sighed again as he rose from his seat to go rummage through his supply cabinets, leaving Prowl slightly confused.

"You're right, Prowl," Ratchet grumbled, staring intently at a vial before setting it off to the side, "It's not normal, and it worries me." Unsub-spacing a smalll energon cube, he began to mix together the substances he'd pulled from the cabinets in varying amounts. Prowl watched with mild curiousity as he poured the mixture into the cube and let it set for few kliks before he handed it to him.

"What's this for?"

"For his intake. I can't do much about the purgings. It's the body's natural response to the presence of a sparkling and the construction of its protoform. He's so drained of energy that it's taking a toll on his systems and making him sick to use a human term. That," Ratchet pointed the cube in Prowl's servo, "should provide some relief to his intake. It's not much more than a numbing agent and some oils to help with taste, but it should do the trick. Bring him by tomorrow, and I'll take a look." Prowl smiled and nodded, grateful to the red and white mech. "By the way, have you told Prime about this yet?" The smile fell, and the cyberninja looked away from him. "That's what I thought. If you don't do it soon, I will. I won't have either of you endangering a sparkling because you two are too shy or stubborn to tell your leader that you're bonded."

"It's not like that, Ratchet, and you know it," Prowl snapped, faceplates heating slightly. "Prime's been buried in work, thanks to Sentinel's last visit, and I haven't been able to get a moment alone with him."

"Riiiiiiiiight," Came the sarcastic reply. Huffing, Prowl turned from the medic and headed for the door. He was stopped by Ratchet calling his name. When he turned, a data-pad was flung at him which he caught with practiced ease. "I've been meaning to give this to you for awhile, and I just found it today. It's information on the development of sparklings. Thought you might want that when Bumblebee starts acting weird."

"Weird how?"

"You'll know. Humans call it 'mood swings'. From what I've seen in other carrying mechs, I call it a nightmare from the Pit." Ratchet's tone was light and humorous, allowing Prowl a small smirk.

"Thanks, Ratchet. I'd like to keep my processor in one piece." Ratchet gave him a short wave as he left the medbay, heading for his room. He sub-spaced the data-pad so no one walking by could see it and wonder why he had it. The small cube that was Ratchet's remedy also went into his compartment. He didn't want to chance dropping it somehow, no matter how careful he normally was. Prowl knew he was being paranoid, seeing as how both Optimus and Bulkhead had already gone into recharge for the night, but he reminded himself that he didn't want a data-pad to be the thing to break the news to his team.

Prowl opened his door as quietly as possible, not wanting to disturb the mech inside. Curled up on his side, Bumblebee lay on the berth, trembling, his back facing the door. Keeping his pede steps light, Prowl made his way over to the berth, placing a comforting servo on the mech's shoulder. Baby-blue optics shuttered open, their expression one of misery and exhaustion. Prowl tried to give him a smile, but Bumblebee only moaned in discomfort and curled further in on himself. Prowl sighed and gently shook Bumblebee to rouse him. He caught sight of purged energon staining the corners of Bumblebee's mouth.

"Bumblebee, I know you purged again while I was gone," He sat down on the edge of the berth, and the yellow mech crawled into his lap, groaning. His intake felt raw and tender. He was constantly having to refuel because of how often he was purging now. If Prime wasn't suspcious before, he had to be now that Bumblebee visited the energon dispenser frequently. Prowl rubbed his back with one servo while reaching into his subspace to pull out the small cube Ratchet had given him.

"What's that?" Bumblebee rasped. The cyberninja gently pushed the small cube into his servos, keeping his other on the yellow back.

"Something Ratchet made for you. It should help your intake," Bumblebee's optics brightened at this. He quickly took a sip from the cube only to make a slightly disgusted face the next second, holding it away from him. Prowl chuckled and gently pushed it back towards him, "He said he wouldn't taste very pleasant, but he did mix in some oils to help with that." Sighing, Bumblebee brought the cube to his mouth once more and took small sips until was gone. Grimancing, he threw away the empty cube, nuzzling into Prowl's chassis as the medicine began to take effect. He mewled in content at the feeling of discomfort disappearing from his intake. "Ratchet wants to see you in the morning." Bumblebee only nodded, slipping back into stasis.

In his current position, Prowl couldn't lay Bumblebee back on the berth. He settled for scooting back to the wall, leaning against the concrete, and laying his head on the yellow helm. He continued to rub Bumblebee's back until he himself fell into a deep recharge.

_0000_

Blue optics snapped open as Bumblebee sat up suddenly, one arm wrapping around his mid-driff. The jolt of pain that had shot through his system had startled him, and he was unsure if he should wake the mech next to him. He waited for what seemed like an eternity before it came again. Pure agony assualted his sensors, and it took all he had not to cry out, both arms wrapping around his middle. Shaking, he grit his denta, trying not to scream. Once it dulled, he reached out one shaking servo and grabbed Prowl's shoulder, shaking it roughly.

"P-Prowl, wake up." He whimpered as the beginnings of another wave of pain made itself known. The ninja muttered something but didn't wake. Bumblebee shook him harder, getting desperate as the pain steadily grew, "Prowl, please." When he still got no respone from the black and gold mech, he sent the pain across their bond. Prowl onlined with a start, clutching at his chassis right over his sparkchamber.

"Bumblebee, what's..." The minute he laid his optics on the scout's pain-filled expression and his arms covering his mid-driff, he felt his spark stop.

"Prowl, something's wrong."

At those words, Prowl leapt from the berth and gathered the trembling scout into his arms. Another painful spasm traveled through his circuits. A strained gasp left Bumblebee followed by quiet whimpers. He'd silenced his end of the bond to keep Prowl from feeling any of it, but the cyberninja still felt the echoes of agony dominating Bumblebee's small frame. It didn't take him long to reach the medbay from his room, but to Prowl, it was one of the longest trips of his life, his spark filled with worry for both his mate and their sparkling. He laid Bumblebee on one of the berths before going over to the door that separated Ratchet's quarters from the medbay.

"Ratchet!" He called the medic's name and banged on the door for a good breem until the door slid open to reveal a tired and irritated Ratchet.

"Kid, do you have any idea what time it is?"

"I couldn't care right now. Something's wrong with Bumblebee." He gestured over to the berth occupied by the twitching form of his mate. Whatever exhaustion the medic had felt before evaporated. He got off the berth as fast as his body would let him and hurried over to the berth. He scanned the the yellow mech quickly, reviewing the results. Prowl waited anxiously, gripping Bumblebee's servo as a gesture of comfort. Ratchet's optics widened, and before Prowl could ask any questions, he found himself being pushed out of the medbay, the medic telling him in an authorative tone, "You can't be in here." Prowl didn't get a chance to protest before the doors slid shut and the unmistakable click of a lock activating kept him from barging back in. He was left with no choice but to wait.

Slumping against the wall, Prowl crossed his arms, optics trained on the floor, processor buzzing with questions, and spark trying desparately to reach out to its other, to offer some comfot since he himself couldn't be right there. There was a single answering pulse, laced with whatever pain was afflicting his mate, before the bond went silent. Either Bumblebee was purposefully blocking him out, suffering alone, or Ratchet had put him into emergency stasis. Either was terrifying. When Ratchet didn't come out after a two breems, Prowl figured his mate had been put into stasis so Ratchet could work. Worry for Bumblebee and their unborn sparkling shown clearly on his faceplates, one pede tapping the floor in anxiety. _'Please, Primus. Oh, please let them be alright.'_

Nearly two megacycles went by, but Prowl's only indication that time had gone by at all was the steady glow of the rising sun shining through the windows of the warehouse. Ratchet still hadn't spoken to him, in person or by comm. link, and with each passing klik, his fears continued to climb. He had long ago slid down to the floor, the back of his helm resting against the wall as he pondered the questions running through his meta. Was Bumblebee alright? What was wrong? Was their sparkling alright? Was Ratchet having trouble? Why hadn't he heard anything? Venting a sigh, fighting his body's need for stasis, he hadn't heard the approaching pede-steps until the voice spoke.

"Prowl?" His attention snapped to his leader, the red and blue mech looking at him with a mixture of confusion and concern. "What's going on?" Prowl almost blurted out the problem until he recalled Ratchet's words from earlier and sighed. It was honestly the last way he'd thought of telling Prime, but it was now or never. The cyberninja opened his mouth to answer Optimus just as the medbay doors slid open to reveal Ratchet wearing the most solemn expression either had even seen on him. Prowl leapt to his pedes immediately, forgetting about Prime entirely.

"Ratchet, is Bumblebee okay?" Ratchet nodded, never smiling, his optics holding some dark secret he had yet to tell.

"He's fine. Give him about three or four Earth weeks to heal, and he should be alright." Heal? Heal from what? Ratchet seemed reluctant to tell him outright. The medic was avoiding looking straight at him, his optics fixed on the floor. Prowl felt a sense of dread settling into his tanks. Something had happened, something awful. Ratchet was never one to let his emotions get to him. He'd been truly upset by whatever had happened in the past four hours. Prowl drew in a calming intake of air before attempting to ask the next thing he wanted to know about, "Wh...What about..." Ratchet's optics finally lifted to meet his, stopping him from finishing his question. They were filled with pity, sorrow, and regret. Prowl had never seen the old mech look so old as he did then. After what felt like an eternity, Ratchet sighed heavily and spoke. Those next three words shattered Prowl's world.

"I'm sorry, Prowl."


	3. Tears

Two things:

1) I hope you are all satisfied with my explainations in this chapter. It demanded to be wrote, and the readers demanded to know. So I provided for both. Enjoy b/c it's 3 am, I'm tired, and in need of sleep. Appreciate it damnit! I'm losing sleep here! DX jk.

2) Happy Easter! I give you angst! Till next time!

EDIT 4/5/10: Guys, I really happy that you enjoy this story enough to add it to your favorites and story alerts, but please, PLEASE, review. Don't get me wrong: even favorites and story alerts make me happy as it proves people are at least enjoying this, but I want to know what you think. I honestly don't think I'm asking too much. I'm sorry if I somehow make anyone upset with this, but all I'm asking for is your thoughts. Thank you. Once again, please enjoy the story.

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_**26. Tears**_

_I'm sorry, Prowl._

The words echoed in his processor over and over, almost taunting him. Vaguely, he saw Ratchet's mouth move and heard Optimus behind him, but neither mechs' words registered. All he could see was the memory of just a week ago, of the tiny spark he'd seen next to Bumblebee's own, answering his pulses of love with smaller, affectionate ones. That couldn't be gone. Prowl was almost completely unaware of the world, the other two mechs in the hallway, even his own body until he felt strong servos grip his shoulders and keep him from falling completely over. Slowly, his senes returned to him just as Ratchet was beginning his explaination to Prime.

"--een meaning to tell ya for the past week, but..."

"He lost it?" Prowl didn't care that he'd interrupted him or that Prime was having to help him stand. He had to confirm it, had to hear it from the medic himself before he would believe it. Ratchet locked optics with the ninjabot, offering a sympathetic yet pitied stare. That told him all he needed to know. A soft, pathetic sounding keen left his vocals as he shuttered his optics, further confusing Optimus. What was going on? Who lost what? Prowl managed to stand on his own pedes, shrugging Optimus's servos from him, and once again found himself staring into Ratchet's face, trying to swallow the emotions wanting to burst free, "Why?"

"I don't know, kid. I haven't had a chance to examine the protoform. I only just finished soldering his plating meaning he's still in stasis and doesn't know yet," Prowl felt his spark stop. Bumblebee didn't know, and the very thought of having to tell the yellow mech made him sick to his tanks. He was going to come out of stasis, and the first bit of bad news he was going to get was that their sparkling had offlined before it had a chance to live..

Ratchet placed his servo on Prowl's shoulder, gesturing back towards the open doors. "You can go in; I'll give you a few kliks alone while I explain to Optimus." Prowl nodded, numb. He stepped through the doorway as though he were walking in a fog. The slight hiss behind him as the doors slid shut snapped him out of it. Over on the berth, Bumblebee lay unmoving, various wires connecting him to a machine monitoring his vitals. Prowl started to walk over to his mate when he noticed a large screen blocking his view of the other berth. That hadn't been there when he first brought Bumblebee in. What was Ratchet trying to hide?

Curious, Prowl walked over to the screen and peeked around it. Only to wish he hadn't. He didn't have to ask to know that the tiny lump under the tarp was the deactivated form of his sparkling, a small pool of energon and oil forming from underneath. A single, sharp click emitted from his vocalizer as he turned away from the screen, half-stumbling his way over to the berth occupied by Bumblebee. Standing at the berthside, Prowl clasped one of the scout's servos in both of his own, running his thumb gently along the yellow digits. A light gray scar on Bumblebee's abdominal plating caught his attention. Ratchet had said he'd just finished soldering the plating; of course, he wouldn't paint over it just yet.

One servo left the scout's to rest over the only evidence Bumblebee would have of their sparkling's fate. There was no way in the Pit he could let Bumblebee see the image on other side of the screen that would haunt him for stellar cycles to come. How on Earth could he tell him? _'Why, Primus? What did we do?'_

"Prowl." The cyberninja didn't jump as he thought he would when he heard Optimus's strict tone. Turning, he faced his leader and the medic standing beside him, sorrow clear on his faceplates. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I tried. You kept saying you were busy. I gave up after a few days and decided to wait until you were through."

"This shouldn't have waited, Prowl. What if this hadn't happened, and Bumblebee hadn't been so sick? It could've been worse," In his ranting, neither mech in the room noticed the soft hum of systems coming online, "I could've sent him on patrol without knowing he was carrying. He could've gotten attacked by Decepticons and would've lost the sparkling that way."

"Wh-what?" Hidden by the ice-blue visor, Prowl's optics widened as he turned his attention back to the mech in question, full of dread and loathing for his leader's big mouth. Bumblebee's optics were wide in shock and disbelief as he looked between Optimus and Ratchet to Prowl. Boss-bot didn't even know he'd been carrying. Had Prowl told him while he was under Ratchet's care? Or had the medic finally gotten fed up with the two of them waiting? And what was this frightening nonsense about losing the sparkling? Propping himself up on his elbows, he stared at Prowl intently, optics shining with desperation and hoping to Pit that what he'd just heard wasn't true. "Prowl, it's not true, is it? B-Boss-bot is just..." He saw the cyberninja's gaze shift almost imperceptibly downward and followed it.

"Bumblebee, don't..." Too late. Vents hitched, optics wide, mouth hanging open, Bumblebee's spark very nearly shattered at the sight of the scar on his abdomen. Servo trembling, he ran one yellow digit over the line. It shouldn't have been there. It's presence meant something had been removed, and that was the area of his gestation chamber. However, the removal of the protoform was only the least of his fears. He couldn't sense the sparkling's spark anymore. The bond between creator and creation was gone. How could he have not noticed before?

Strong, warm arms wrapped around him, bringing him back to reality. Bumblebee lifted his face to meet Prowl's, a subtle shaking rattling his frame. The yellow mech began speaking, his voice breaking on every other word, "B-but that's not fair. It...it can't be g-gone...We just found out. It..." Bumblebee's shaking grew more pronounced, clicks and whimpers filling the gaps between his words. He buried his faceplate into Prowl's chassis and held onto his arm as tight as he could. Prowl, visor narrowed near to slits, turned towards their leader who was looking rather ashamed of himself for blurting out what Prowl should've told Bumblebee himself. The glare he received from the black-gold mech was intimidating but nothing would ever make him feel worse as hearing the near muffled words that left Bumblebee's vocals next, "It's my fault."

Questions. Crying. These things Prowl had expected and braced himself to handle. Bumblebee blaming himself for the sparkling's termination hadn't occured to him and therefor, he was unprepared to deal with it. Harsh clicks filled the otherwise silent medbay, the yellow mech crying into Prowl's chassis. He knew he should be saying something, anything, to comfort his mate, but nothing came. He was at a loss on what to do or say. To his own horror and disgust, Optimus spoke first on the matter.

"Bumblebee, there's no way this is your fault. These things happen and--"

"Optimus, you've done enough damage. Leave." Prowl's ice-cold tone kept him from retorting. Helm hanging in guilt, Prime left the medbay, intent on getting to his office and thinking on what had just occured. Maybe he'd slam his processor in the door for good measure. Ratchet sighed, coming to stand by the grieving mechs. Prowl was trying desperately to calm his bondmate. Stress was already apparent on the dark grey faceplates as well as exhaustion. The medic didn't dare to disturb them though. He only nodded to Prowl to continue to his efforts to comfort Bumblebee.

Ratchet made his way over the screen, checking to make sure the view of the berth was completely blocked off. Venting a sigh, he pulled back the tarp. The protoform was barely even formed, structure wiring and underdeveloped circuitry creating the general shape of the sparkling but not much more than that. There was nothing more than a partially formed sparkchamber sporting slight burn marks giving Ratchet suspicion as to how the little Autobot had gone offline, but he'd need to examine it before he could be sure. If nothing else, he at least owed Prowl and Bumblebee a medical explaination as to why. Maybe he could've saved it. Primus knows he would've tried.

_0000_

"Prowl?" The gruff voice pulled him from his slight daze. He needed rest, his systems running on whatever power his megacycle of stasis had given him before the disaster, but Bumblebee needed him more. The yellow mech had long ago cried himself into stasis, his faceplate settled into a troubled expression. Prowl was still holding him in his arms on the berth, one servo absently rubbing soothing circles on his back. The cyberninja looked up to meet Ratchet's optics, noticing immediately the datapad he held in front of him, "I think I know what happened." Prowl's optic ridges raised in curiousity, Ratchet's sign to continue. Clearing his intake, Ratchet looked back over his notes one more time before addressing the ninja again.

"From the burn marks on what there was of the sparkchamber, I'd say the sparkling was moved down into its protoform too soon." The confusion that crossed Prowl's face forced him to continue, "If you'd read that datapad I gave you, you'd know this. A sparkling's spark usually does not leave its carrier's until the protoform is finished which typically takes two orbital cycles."

"So, it moved down to its protoform too soon. Couldn't it have adapted?"

"Maybe. If it's spark chamber had been completely finished and strong enough to survive without drawing energy directly from Bumblebee's spark. That's the thing. The sparkchamber wasn't finished, and I don't think the sparkling was anywhere near strong enough to survive." Ratchet sighed, laying the datapad facedown on a cart nearby. Prowl was still trying to comprehend the medic's explaination.

"But why? If it wasn't ready, why did it try join with its protoform?"

"That's the one I couldn't figure out and probably never will. This sort of thing doesn't happen often, one in every ten carrying mechs or femmes, so no medic's ever been able to determine a definite cause. It could be any number of reasons. The sparkling could've been weak and doomed from the start, the protoform wasn't forming correctly, or there might've been something about it Bumblebee's spark rejected. Only Primus knows the real answer. Sorry, Prowl, but you two are just gonna have to accept what happened." Prowl grit his denta, trying not to lash out. He knew Bumblebee wasn't going to accept this answer. He would probably still blame himself, and it would take Prowl who knew how long to convince him otherwise.

"Will he able to have another?" Prowl asked, trying to distract himself.

"Yeah. He'll be able to carry another. The chances are slim this will happen again. Even with carriers that have gone through this, it's not been known to happen more than once. Like I said, give him a few weeks, and you two can try again." Prowl nodded, some hope working back into his spark. It would be awhile, he knew, before Bumblebee would be ready to try for another sparkling. Until then, he would need all the support he could get from Prowl, Sari, the entire team. Even Optimus. Once he learned to control what he said. "You look like you need a good, long stasis nap, kid."

"I do, but I'm not leaving his side."

"Then don't. I know that you know you're gonna have to be strong, for him and for yourself, but you can't do that if you're falling over in exhaustion. Recharge in the chair or the berth, I don't care. Just get some rest." Ratchet left to go properly dispose of the sparkling's remains. He highly doubted he could get a ship from Cybertron to cross the galaxy just to pick up a deactivated sparkling. As much as he would've preferred the hospital in Iacon, he was just lucky that he had the equipment he needed for the job. Prowl carefully laid Bumblebee out on the berth, making sure none of the wires connecting him to the machine had come loose before settling himself into the chair beside the berth. Arms crossed, he watched the monitors for a few cycles to make sure Bumblebee was alright. Satisfied, he shuttered his optics, hoping his dreams remained unhaunted as the blissful darkness of stasis took him away.


	4. Seeking Solace

A/N: Due to the lack of reviews for the last chapter, I was somewhat driven to continue on and try to make the next chapter better. It is indeed shorter than the others, but no less lacking. I had planned on making it longer, but by the time I got to the end, I felt it was satisfactory for now. Don't know how well I matched the theme, but I tried. Tried to make it more from Bee's perspective, but I don't know how well I tried. I'll leave that up to you.

Time to thank those who have either reviewed this story, added it to their favorites, added it to their alerts, or all three. And please guys, if you're faving it or watching it, please leave a review. I'm happy that you give me that much, but I at least want to know what you think. Once again, thank you all:

Felina Fullstop, DreamStoryWeaver, WavyTheFur, Yami-Yugi3, Draiconovix, Library Drone SAR, Novan Cyberfox, VeekaIzhanez, Witch08, xSapphire-Catx, Jideni3, musicismyhero, RandomCheesecake, Sassbrat, and thephoenixqueen.

Please enjoy.

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_**5. Seeking Solace**_

Darkness stretched out in every direction. Unbroken. Endless. No beginning and no end. Maybe he should've been more afraid than he was, but he found that he wasn't. He was stranglely calm yet wary at the same time. He was curious if anything. Where was he? What was this place? Could he find his way back? Or was he stuck here? His body felt distant from him, giving him the sensation of being nothing more than a pair of optics and a processor. A small tug, familiar on its own, brought him back to a state of semi-awareness. And a nightmare.

Pit-fire. Pain. White-hot agony, ripping through his circuits. Where was it coming from? Why did it hurt so much? He opened his mouth on a scream, hoping to Primus someone, anyone, would come and take him away, away from the blackness and the excruciating torture he'd wound up in. The darkness melted away, and suddenly he was in someone's arms, being carried down the hallway while a deep, smooth voice whispered in his audios that everything would be alright. _Prowl._ Prowl would protect him right? He'd make it go away. Somehow.

The scene changed again. Ratchet's medbay. The old medic leaning over him, shoving Prowl out the door and away from him. _No! I need him. _He wanted to scream at the medic but didn't have a chance before the EMP was placed gingerly at the side of his temple. A thrumming pulse issued from the nozzle, traveling through his circuits, shutting-down his systems one by one, leaving only his life support and spark untouched. He should've woke up here, like he had so many times, but this was different. No. This time around, he was a spectator, watching with a gruesome fascination as Ratchet grabbed the laser-scapel off the cart near his berth and cut into the base dermal plating, right above his gestational chamber.

Blue optics widened in horror. He couldn't let this happen. He opened his mouth to tell the medic to stop but no sound came out. He tried to interferre, but his servos passed right through everything he touched. His spark (was it even there anymore?) was pulsing erratically, trying to deny the event taking place before him. What must've been only a few breems, though felt like a thousand vorns, Ratchet had set aside the scapel, used some instrutment to hold open the incision, and reached in, gently prying open his gestation chamber to remove the protoform.

Only it wasn't complete. Merely wires and circuity forming a crude resemblance to what should've been his sparkling's protoform, energon and oil leaking from what appeared to be burn marks and lines not completely closed. The incomplete sparkchamber bore the worst of the burns, the surrounding circuitry blackened. That couldn't have come from him. He felt his intake flex and resisted the sudden urge to purge his tanks, one servo covering his mouth while the other covered his mid-driff. The little form had already turned the dark gray hue of death. It was gone. His knee joints gave out. He hit the floor, desparately wishing he could cry like Sari could. He threw back his head and once again opened his mouth to scream.

_0000_

"NO!"

Bumblebee bolted upright, baby-blue optics wide with panic and grief. His intakes cycled short bursts of air while he tried to get his bearings. Had that really happened? Had his sparkling really died looking like a discarded pile of old wires and circuit boards? Like all the other times, the nightmare had been acurate up until Ratchet forced him into stasis. The scene afterwards, the medic cutting him open and removing the deactivated sparkling, was new and terrifying. The yellow mech drew his knees up to his chassis and clicked rapidly, trying to dispel the gruesome sight, imagined though it might've been, from his processor.

Familiar, black arms wrapped around him, drawing him into a comforting embrace. He all but threw himself into it, burying his faceplate as deep as he could into the crook of his mate's neck, his sobs partially muffled. He felt Prowl lay his head on top of his, one tan and black servo rubbing his back. He let Bumblebee cry, his spark wrenching at the broken sound. He had felt Bumblebee's distress across their bond and had been keeping a watch on him while the nightmare had played out. Only when the sobs had dissolved into something like hiccups did he dare speak.

"Was it the same one?" He was tone was gentle and concerned, though the question was redundant. Every night for the past two weeks, Bumblebee had been having the same nightmare, reliving the moment their sparkling died. He'd come to expect them, recharging in a light stasis so the scout would have someone to turn to when he woke. To his surprise, Bumblebee shook his head, whimpering.

"It was the same until Ratchet knocked me out. Then..." He began clicking again, a soft sound that steadily grew in pitch as he spoke, "I...I saw him. C-cut me open...and pull it out. Primus, Prowl, it didn't even look like..." Bumblebee was unable to finish. He broke down into uncontrollable clicks once again. Prowl was sure his faceplates lost some color. Bumblebee couldn't have seen _that_. He had been out cold. He himself had only seen the tarp covering the tiny form and the small pool of fluids, but it had been enough. It haunted his meditation, recharge, and every waking moment. He was careful to block even that image from Bumblebee. The nightmare image must've been truly upsetting.

"Do...do you hate me, Prowl?" The cyberninja was taken aback by the question. He tried to look down at Bumblebee's face, but he was purposefully keeping it buried in his neck.

"Why on Earth would I hate you?"

"Because it's my fault, isn't it? I lost our sparkling because something's wrong with me." Bumblebee still refused to look at Prowl, his optics half-shuttered while he tore himself apart. Ratchet had told him that such things could happen, thing beyond their control, but he didn't care. He had carried it. He should've been able to sense something was wrong. Bumblebee felt Prowl's shock but chose to ignore it, fighting off another wave of depression. Prowl's arms tightened around him. A soft click that was not his own reached his audios, and his optics widened. Prowl never cried in front of him.

"I don't hate you. I _love _you. I don't know how you could think otherwise," Bumblebee felt Prowl's servo cup his cheek and gently tilted his faceplate up so he could look the beetle in the optics. The sorrow and hurt written on Prowl's own faceplate both surprised and scared the scout. Even alone, he barely let those emotions loose. Maybe he'd assumed wrong when Prowl hadn't shown much reaction to the sparkling's loss. Perhaps he'd been keeping it hidden, trying to forget it and move on as he always did, but his question had deeply wounded the ninja, breaking whatever control he had over his emotions, "Yes, I miss it. With all my spark, I miss our sparkling. I wish I could've done more to save it, but I do not blame you, Bumblebee."

Bumblebee sighed, saying nothing more on the matter. Prowl may not have blamed him for their sparkling's demise, but he still blamed himself. He nuzzled into the ninja-bot's chassis, shuttering his optics. Neither he nor Prowl would be falling back into stasis for awhile yet, Bumblebee too depressed and disturbed to get any true rest and Prowl too reluctant to let him suffer alone, giving him a shoulder to cry on. Both would lose precious stasis, but it wasn't on their list of priorities at the moment. Bumblebee could have blushed when Prowl began to slowly rock back and forth, softly humming some tune he remembered from his sparkling days, but it was comforting and relaxed him, despite the nightmare scenes still fresh in his processor.

Two weeks had passed since the unfortunate incident. Optimus, in an effort to make up for what he said, had given both of them a few weeks off, to give Bumblebee some time to heal emotionally more than anything else. The scar where Ratchet had removed the sparkling had been painted over, and by now, his self-repairs had taken care of the rest, making it impossible to tell he'd ever gone through it. Primus knows he wanted to forget it. He wanted to put it all behind him and hopefully try for another in few weeks. However, the constant nightmares and pitied stares he still received on occasion made it difficult.

Each night that the damned dream came, it left Bumblebee feeling more guilty than he had before, and Prowl would spend another night telling him it wasn't his fault. This new nightmare invoked a terrible possibilty he hadn't thought of. What if they tried for another sparkling, and he lost it, too? It would just be another life sent back to the Well before its time. Could he really do that to an unborn? He shuddered at the thought, Prowl's arms tightening around him even more. Bumblebee ran his yellow digits over the painted scar, his spark throbbing. He wanted a sparkling. He wanted a family with Prowl. He just didn't want to have to suffer to get it.


	5. Spiral

A/N: Not much on this chapter. Just needed an excuse to bring Sari back into the picture and keep the angst going just a little bit longer. Read and review, please! :D

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_**85. Spiral**_

The minute she walked into the base, Sari knew something was wrong. Maybe it was Optimus turning towards her with something like relief in his optics or the general melancholy expressions of the others, but something had definitely gone wrong while she was away. It had been a little over a month since her last visit, most of it spent on a vacation with her father, and she had been eager to come back. She loved spending time with her father, but she always missed her friends when she was away. She loved learning of Cybertron's history, of the important mechs and femmes there, and how their society worked. As a techno-organic, Sari felt she at least had a right to know the Cybertronian half of her heritage.

The base was usually more lively than what she was seeing now. Ratchet, as always, would be locked away in the medbay, cleaning and reorganizing his tools. Bulkhead would be starting a new painting or finishing an old one, whichever suited his mood. The rare times Prowl was in the living room, he would be arguing with Bumblebee over control of the TV while the little hellion himself kept the remote just out of reach, a silly grin plastered on his faceplate. Since learning the two were together, she often found such little moments cute, but the scene she was greeted with was a contradiction to the norm. Rather than the medbay, Ratchet was sitting in the tire chair, slowly scrolling through a datapad she guessed was medical, his optic ridges furrowed in concentration and what looked like stress. The canvas was blank in front of Bulkhead who looked as if he were miles away, faceplates settled into a troubled look.

By far, she was most surprised by the two mechs on the couch. Prowl sat on the end closest to her, watching what looked like a Discovery Channel documentary though his expression was one of disinterest. _'That's not like him.'_ One arm rested in his lap while the other was wrapped around the shoulders of the little yellow mech beside him. Bumblebee hadn't even acknowledged her yet, leaning into Prowl with his head resting on the ninja's chassis and an expression of despondence. When she had last been around, the two still hadn't told anyone else they were bonded, and she could remember scolding Bee for keeping secrets, a knowing smile on her face. Any other time, she would've teased them about finally letting the cat out of bag, but even she could sense it wasn't an appropriate time.

After nearly five minutes of silence, no explainations, and being ignored, Sari sighed, placed one hand on her hip, and said the words she would later come to regret.

"Alright, what's going on? You're all acting like somebody died or something." Vents hitched though the only one she took notice of was Bumblebee. His optics had widened, guilt written as clear as day in them. One yellow and black servo automatically covered his abdomen. Shaking, he looked like he would break down any minute. Looking around at the others, trying to figure out what she said wrong, she saw that they all wore masks of horror and disapproval expect for Prowl. With his visor narrowed, the cyberninja glared at her with all the fury of Unicron himself.

"Damnit, Sari," Was all he managed to get out before Bumblebee softly began clicking, turning his faceplate to muffle them into Prowl's shoulder. Without another word to the rest of the team, Prowl gathered the sub-compact into his arms and strode from the room, murmuring words of comfort to the distraught Bumblebee. Sari watched with worried eyes until they were gone, turning to the others for answers. Optimus sighed, lowering his hand down for her to step on. He placed her on the table so that she was at least optic level with them when they sat around her. Before Optimus could utter a sound, Ratchet began speaking, voice gruff but sympathetic.

"First off, Sari, we know you didn't mean it since you don't know, but you might wanna prepare yourself for Prowl."

"Why? What happened?" It was Ratchet's turn to sigh. He searched his processor for an appropriate way to start his explaination. Sari was not familiar with that aspect of Cybertronians, and it was going to take a lot of patience to explain it properly.

"Well..." The sound of metal slicing the air interrupted the medic followed by a 'thunk' as one point of the three-bladed star lodged itself into the table, mere inches from Sari. Three mechs jumped from the seats, Optimus picking Sari up from the table surface. Bulkhead turned towards the source of the weapon.

"Prowl, have you blown a circuit?! You coulda hit Sari!" Prowl snorted, arms crossed over his chassis, his mouth set into a thin, scowling line.

"If I'd wanted to hit her, I would have," Sari paled, realizing that Ratchet had been right in saying she should have prepared herself. She just didn't know for what. The cyberninja's glare focused on her again, and she swallowed, expecting the worse now. Prowl snapped, oblivious to the glares from his comrades, "Do you have any idea what you've done? He's finally started spending more than a cycle at time out of our room. Primus knows he's gonna start having nightmares again thanks to you."

"Prowl, that's not fair. She's not been here. She doesn't know what's going on."

"She should have at least had the sense to ask a different question when it was obvious there was something wrong," Prowl argued, his control beginning to fray. Sari was torn between feeling guilty for a crime she didn't know about and wanting to yell at the darker bot, tears filling her bright blue eyes. Ratchet surprised them all by taking a wrench from subspace and flinging it in Prowl's direction. It hit its mark, glancing the top of his helm and crashing to the floor. Prowl grunted in pain, rubbing at the new dent and glaring at the medic.

"Serves ya right. I agree she should've said something different, but it's out there now, and we just have to hope it doesn't hurt Bumblebee's progress," Prowl recrossed his arms, refusing to move from the doorway should his mate call him, "But she didn't know, and you have no right to blame her. Losing your temper and throwing your weapons around ain't gonna help the kid either. So I suggest you either go and deal with Bumblebee or explain the situation to Sari."

Prowl tilted his head to one side, considering Ratchet's options. Sari was still hiding behind Optimus's blue digits but allowed herself to peek around them to watch the ninja-bot. He was still scowling, but his expression told her that he wasn't really there anymore. Bumblebee's sobs were drifting from the down the hall, having gained a slight volume. After a few nanoseconds, he vented a heavy sigh, his shoulders drooping, the scowl replaced by sorrowful frown. To Sari, it looked like he'd aged 1,000 years just letting go of his anger, his visor flickering as though he found it hard to stay online.

"He needs me. I'll leave it to you." He turned on his heel, quickly walking down the hall to his room. With the cyberninja gone, the others relaxed, Bulkhead dislodging the shuriken before they sat back down. Optimus set her back down and gave her an empathetic look.

"We apologize for his behavoiur, Sari. He's been under a lot of stress lately." Sari stared him in the optics then looked around to the others. They were all watching her, waiting for her say something. Finally, she sighed and looked up at them, tears falling from her eyes.

"It would really help if I knew what was going on."

_0000_

It had taken an hour to explain to Sari the tragic event that had taken place while she was gone. Ratchet had been forced to use the human terms of 'pregnant' and 'miscarriage' in order for her to relate them to the Cybertronian usage. They told her of the day Bumblebee had lost the sparkling and how he'd found out through Optimus. They also told her of the nightmares that had plagued the scout since it's deactivation that had seemed to finally stop just three days ago, and Prowl's constant care and vigilance over his bondmate. When they were through with their explaination, Sari's eyes were wide with shocked disbelief at her own words. The techno-organic girl left the base that night without getting a chance to apologize to Bumblebee and Prowl. The yellow mech had refused to come out of his room, and Prowl absolutely refused to let her in.

Locked in his office, Optimus sighed as he looked over another data-pad on the history of the Great War, several more scattered around his desk. He couldn't bring himself to care about the information anymore these days, though. In reality, they were just a distraction from the depressive atmosphere the base had become once again. It had only been within the last week that Bumblebee had begun to show signs of learning how to deal with the sparkling's loss, and Sari's unfortunate timing might've just halted that progress. He almost didn't blame Prowl for being so angry with her, but he had to remind himself that she hadn't known, hadn't been around to know. However, Prowl's attack had shown him and the others just how much the cyberninja was cracking under the stress of taking care of Bumblebee while hiding his own emotions away. He needed someone else to help him and look after the minibot who it seemed had spiraled back into depression.

The red and blue Prime put away the data-pad and pulled up the records of the members of his small team. Prowl's file was mostly blank, having been absolute in his desire to keep them out of his past, though he found just what he was looking for. Bumblebee's file was very thorough, not surprising considering Ratchet had filled it out, and held more than enough information. Satisfied with his findings, he pulled up a list of contacts on Cybertron and sent out a trasmission hail to the frequency he had picked out. Soon enough, the familiar white-and-black mech appeared on screen.

"Hey, OP. Now what on Cybertron could you be callin' me for?" Jazz's smile was misplaced compared to the rest of the mechs on base. Optimus offered a small smile. Inwardly, he hoped what he had mind worked.

"More like _who_. I need a favor, Jazz."


	6. Broken Pieces

A/N: I'm going to tell you ahead of time: I'm an evil bitch. X3 Anyway, you can all thank Aerinsol on DA for the idea for this chapter. And next chapter. After all, what do couples do when they have fought? I'd tell you, but I think you can guess. 8D Enjoy yet another chapter.

Review please!

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**__**76. Broken Pieces**_

Beneath the tree with his legs crossed, arms resting on his knee joints, and faceplates devoid of any expression, Prowl looked every bit the picture of peace and calm, but his processor was far from such things. The inner turmoil plaguing him kept him from meditating properly, his thoughts jumping from one thing to another, the events of the past month replaying over and over. In his meta, he saw his sparkling, still connected to Bumblebee's spark, and in that one memory, it was alive. However, reality would always creep through and replace it with _that_ image once more, the one he could never get rid of.

Shuddering, Prowl onlined his optics, laying on his back to stare up at the sky through his ceiling. The late afternoon sun had painted the sky a pale blue that would later darken as evening came. As much as he would've enjoyed watching the sky change a dazzling array of colors come sunset, he wanted to wait until his mate was there to watch it with him. He'd found that distractions--even the most simple ones-- slowly helped the smaller mech to put the incident behind him. Especially since Sari had very nearly destroyed everything they'd been working towards with her unfortunate timing and disasterous words.

Prowl groaned at the thought of how close the techno-organic had come to ruining the beetle's progress. He'd been doing so well, little by little trying to fall back into a normal routine and prove to the others as well Prowl and himself that he was going to be okay. Sari's statement and the reaction it had garnered had been a step backwards, yes, but not as big as one he'd been fearing. True, Bumblebee had slipped back into grief, his emotions once again a twisted mess of despair. For a few days, he did nothing but lay on the berth, clicking in grief and staring at the wall with guilt-ridden optics. It had taken him nearly a solar cycle to convince the scout to come out of the room again, but once he did, Bumblebee would spend at least two megacycles with Prowl and the others in the living room, watching something they could all agree on at the least. Fortunately, the gruesome images that had terrorized Bumblebee's recharge hadn't returned, and Prowl counted that as a small victory. As long as those night terrors didn't return, there was hope Bumblebee would recover soon.

The one thing he could not convince the scout of otherwise was placing blame on himself for the sparkling's termination. Prowl knew that the guilt was the one obstacle keeping Bumblebee from recovering any faster than he was. He thought there was something wrong with him that had prevented the sparkling from getting everything it needed from him, that his own body had rejected and killed their creation because of some glitch they hadn't found or couldn't be fixed. No matter how times Ratchet had looked him over and declared he was fine, that some things will happen they could never understand, the minibot still apologized for somehow killing their child. It broke Prowl's spark every time he would catch Bumblebee praying to Primus to fix whatever was wrong with him and hope that it never happened to another.

'_It's not his fault.'_ The small reminder had been reassurance once. Now, it was just a precursor to another train of thought, one that took him back down a road of painful memories. _'An eye for an eye,'_ He couldn't remember where he'd heard the Earth phrase; only that it had been assaulting him every solar cycle since the accident. Bumblebee blamed himself but had no idea that Prowl felt just as responsible. The deactivation of his sparkling had been his punishment for selfishly sacrificing a protoform to save his master whose time had come. In the back of his processor, he could still see his master, frowning upon him with disappointment and anger blazing in his tired, worn optics. His former shell laying just feet from him, Yoketron had given Prowl his final lesson and willed his spark to go out.

Prowl had traded one life for another, and Primus had sought retribution by taking his sparkling's life. This was his punishment, it had to be, and Bumblebee was the one suffering for it. _'A life for a life. I'm so sorry, Bumblebee.'_

The sound of his door sliding open then shut signaled the scout's return. Ratchet had called him by comm. link for what he had assumed was another medical appointment. Sitting up, he was met with a glare and disapproving frown.

"How could you?" The amount of venom in Bumblebee's tone surprised Prowl. The cyberninja rose to his pedes, his visor questioning.

"What are you..."

"They told me what you did to Sari!" The scout shrieked, optics smoldering. Prowl cursed his teammates. Of course they'd tell him. Sari hadn't been around for days, most likely avoiding the base for fear of getting hurt. He didn't what he'd been thinking, and he was ashamed of himself for almost hurting one of the few organic friends they had. Sighing, Prowl looked Bumblebee in the optics.

"I lost my temper, and I hate myself for what I did. I'm sorry, Bumblebee."

"I'm not the one you should saying sorry to," The yellow mech retorted, and Prowl knew he was right, "I've been waiting for almost a week for her to come back so I could tell her I forgive her. She won't even answer when I call. I thought she was just afraid of saying the wrong thing again. No, you overreacted, and it's all your fault that she's even afraid to come near here." The older mech had to suppress the growl wanting to creep from his vocalizer. He knew it was his fault, but he hadn't gotten a chance to get away to apologize. He didn't need any more guilt trips. Not from anyone, let alone Bumblebee.

"Don't you think I know that?"

"Then why did you do it?"

"I was angry, alright? You were getting better, and I was...afraid she'd ruined that," Bumblebee's optics widened slightly. Prowl admitting any kind of fear was rare. The last time he remembered the ninja-bot admitting he was scared was when Sari had accidentally stabbed him during her upgrade, the blade coming just inches from his spark. It had been close, too close, but he'd survived, "It was hard, watching everything we've worked for nearly destroyed by someone's big mouth." Baby-blue optics flashed in anger, narrowing once more.

"Oh, you think this has been easy for me, Prowl? Losing the sparkling was the most painful experience of my lifestream, and I've been through the Pit just trying to put it behind me. The least you could do is not scare off anyone who could help." Prowl felt his spark stop before flaring in rage. He didn't care that he'd probably be spending the night alone for the first time since they'd been bonded; he'd had enough. He snapped.

"The _least_ I could I do?!" Bumblebee flinched at the volume of Prowl's voice, realizing his mistake an astrosecond too late, "I've been right there by you every nanosecond since then. I've lost hours of stasis helping your aft, dealing with you and your nightmares, giving you all the support I can, and the only thing you care about is one moment of stupidty on my part. You've done nothing but blame yourself, and, for some reason, I can't convince you otherwise so I give up!" Prowl's engine was revving hard, his vent cycling air furiously as he ranted, practically oblivious to the hurt he was feeling from the other.

"And just so you know, this hasn't been easy for me either. I've been trying my damnedest, hiding everything away so I wouldn't burden you with it, but since you don't care, I guess it doesn't really matter. I saw the tarp covering our sparkling's body, I've had nightmares of my own where I lost both of you, and I've been tearing myself apart, thinking that this is all some punishment of Primus for giving up a protoform's life just save someone else's. Are you happy now?!"

Silence followed the end of Prowl's confession, the heaving of his vents and the almost feral revving of his engine the only sounds either made. Bumblebee was staring at his bondmate in shock, mouth hanging open, optics wide. He'd had absolutely no idea that Prowl had been going through such _hell_ for him, and he'd practically amounted all of it to nothing in favor of one little mistake. The ninja turned away from him even as Bumblebee stepped forward.

"Prowl, I..."

"Leave me alone, Bumblebee."

"But..." The yellow mech took another step forward.

"I said leave me alone!" Prowl's arm flew up to keep the scout from getting any closer. He'd underestimated the distance. A horrifying _clang_ rent the air as the back of Prowl's servo struck the pliable metal of Bumblebee's cheek. His spark skipped a pulse as he looked up to see the black paint scuff now decorating the light gray cheek. Bumblebee's optics were wide in shocked disbelief. He raised one servo to his cheek, lightly brushing the mark left by Prowl, optics filling with hurt and betrayal. Sick realization registered in Prowl's processor as he stared at his own hand, a light gray paint scuff on the back. He'd hit Bumblebee. Accident or not, Prowl had struck his bondmate in anger.

"Bumblebee...I-I didn't mean to..."

"Go." Bumblebee's voice wavered, clearly holding back clicks the best he could, lowering his faceplate to stare at the floor, "Just fragging go, Prowl." The cyberninja reached out one servo to the scout, but the latter turned away, hugging himself to suppress the slight shaking of his frame. Horrified and disgusted with himself, Prowl slowly walked out past the small mech, trying but failing to look him in the optics as he kept turning away from him. The door slid shut when the black and gold mech finally crossed the threshold, leaving him alone in the hallway. There was a click from the other side, telling him that he'd been locked out. He pressed one audio receptor to the door, his own guilt growing as he listened to the spark-broken cries from inside, knowing _he_ was the cause and that this time he couldn't offer the comfort Bumblebee needed.

Unable to listen to anymore, Prowl backed away from the door until he reached the main room. He was met with several questioning and concerned stares but didn't give any mech a chance to corner him as he took off running, shifting to his alt. mode once he was outside, tires screeching as he sped away from the base. Optimus turned to Ratchet, unsure of what to do.

"Shouldn't we do something?" Ratchet shook his head, turning back to his old war wound.

"No. I told you we shouldn't have told Bumblebee what happened. And if we go confront either of them now, we'll probably just make it worse. Let them sort it out." Optimus sighed, turning on the computer console to track Prowl's signature. He didn't know what had happened though judging by the shouting, he could only assume the worst. He had thought telling Bumblebee about Prowl's attack on Sari was for the best since the ninja didn't seem to be admitting it himself, but now he realized he'd probably caused more damage than before. _'Primus, I hope Jazz arrives soon.' _Optimus sincerely hoped that whatever he'd caused, whatever he had broken between the two, could be fixed. It was going to tear him apart if he was the one responsible for destroying their relationship; he couldn't live with himself if he was.


	7. Break Away

A/N: Well, I'm quite honestly surprised with myself. Not only is this the longest chapter of Fragile (5,143 words not counting the title), but it also contains smut, which is a first for me. I don't think I did too bad. :D The smut was Aerinsol's request, and I could not help it. It had to be done. So enjoy.

Warning: This is your final warning. This chapter contains smut meaning mechxmech. If giant robot sex bothers or offends you, I don't wanna fucking hear it. There is a back button for a reason. USE IT.

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_**6. Break Away**_

Dinobot Island may not have been the best refuge, but as far as Prowl knew, it could've been Crystal City, and he still wouldn't have cared. Sitting on the beach, arms crossed on his knee joints, with the sprawling expanse of buildings that made up Detroit as a landscape, he felt as though he should be rusting at the bottom of Lake Erie. He was horribly and utterly disgusted with himself. How could he have snapped so easily? How could have said what he said? How could he have hit Bumblebee? The harsh words of nearly three megacycles ago echoed in his processor, drowned out only by the near deafening, ringing _clang_ from his irrational anger. Even if Bumblebee forgave him, if he ever talked to him again, Prowl could not forgive himself.

_'He carried my child and lost it. He's been through more pain than anything I was ever put through. He's been counting on me to help him through this, and I've completely fragged it up,' _Prowl vented a sigh, drawing his knees closer to his chassis. He rested his helm on his arms, trying to block out the memory of the black mark on Bumblebee's cheek, _'He deserves better than me.' _The vehement thought brought on a series of soft clicks. He couldn't stand the thought of losing the only mech he'd ever trusted his spark with. It made him want to cry, scream. It made him want to die, but he knew, given the choice, he'd only want Bumblebee to be happy. Even if it wasn't with him.

A soft nudging to his arm disrupted his self-loathing. He lifted his helm in alarm only to relax when he saw it was Swoop, staring at him with the most curious expression on his long face. He hadn't even heard the flier land beside him.

"Hey, Swoop." His voice was not as enthusiastic as he tried to make it. Electric blue optics stared at him then shuttered as he nudged Prowl's arm with his beak again. He sighed, knowing what the dinobot wanted, "I didn't bring any energon goodies this time, Swoop. Sorry." The Pteranadon stared at him for a moment then shifted to his bipedal mode, his wings forming the odd cape behind him. He took a seat beside Prowl, clawed servos resting in his lap.

"Swoop no care about goodies. Want to know what's wrong." The black and gold mech was surprised at the flier's interest in his well-being though he should have expected it. Out of the Dinobots, Swoop was the most intelligent, his still developing processor allowing for several opportunities to improve himself. Speech was one of his more recent achievements, and he'd already expressed interest in becoming a medic. His curious and perceptive nature also made him a valuable friend, always concerned for those around him. Still, he was probably under the assumption he owed Prowl a debt for saving his life. Offering an audio was probably the least he could do.

However, Prowl didn't think he should burden his friend with his own problems. There was a nagging voice in the back of his processor that told him it was his pride that had gotten him into this mess in the first place. The warm weight of Swoop's servo on his shoulder made him reconsider. For once, he was the one needing advice, completely unsure of what to do. Cycling a deep intake, he stared off into the distance, almost as if he could see the warehouse hidden amongst everything else.

"I did something terrible," Even with one of his closest friends, he couldn't reveal the entire truth at once, hesitating even though Swoop was willing to listen. The noble-looking mech cocked his head to one side in confusion. Prowl had saved him, Snarl, and Grimlock from being melted down into scrap metal by the same human that had made them. He didn't think the slim mech was capable of anything but good. 'Terrible' was not a word he could associate with the ninja.

Swoop gave a soft 'caw' to press him to go on. Knowing he couldn't back out now, Prowl unveiled the entire story. He only had to explain a few things--what a sparkling was and how it had been lost--, but other than that, Swoop only nodded, confirming that he was listening. Once he reached the end, the end being that he'd hit his bondmate, he'd gone silent, staring forlornly at the tide coming in and out.

"I'll be lucky if he ever wants to talk to me again, let alone see me," He stared at the water for another few kliks before grabbing a nearby stone and hurling into the lake, "How could I have been so stupid?!" Swoop stared at him, lost in thought. It was, as Prowl had said, terrible, but Swoop was having some trouble figuring out just what the ninjabot was so upset about. Was it the fact that he'd struck the little yellow mech? To him, it seemed that wasn't the problem at all. He allowed Prowl to calm down before addressing him again.

"Prowl upset he hit...bondmate?" He'd had to think of the word, but it was the right one, "Thinks Bee won't forgive?" Prowl nodded, numb inside. He didn't think; he knew. How could Bumblebee ever forgive him? There was a moment of silence between the two, Swoop digesting the information given to him as he worked out the real problem based on what he'd heard and could remember. He was a lot smarter than most mechs gave him credit for if not a little forgetful at times. Quite suddenly, the flier raised his servo and whacked the older mech on the back of his helm. Prowl's own servo immediately covered the area, looking at Swoop in bewilderment.

"What the frag?" Swoop pointed one talon at him accusingly, his face stern, blue optics boring into his.

"Prowl being aft. Guilty over wrong thing. Bee not care about hit. Will forgive Prowl." He placed his servo over his sparkchamber, his optics filling with sympathy for both his friend and the yellow mech, "Words hurt most. Prowl say he give up. Bee will think Prowl don't want him anymore," Swoop shook his helm slowly as if to emphasize his point, "Cause more spark ache than hit ever will."

Prowl's optics widened behind his visor, realizing Swoop was right. He'd been so caught up, worrying about hitting Bumblebee, that he'd forgotten what kind of effect his words had had on the beetle. He remembered seeing the hurt in Bumblebee's optics as he told him that he'd given up trying to help him, referring to all the care and support he had been giving the other as merely 'dealing with it'. With a sensation not unlike wanting to purge his tanks, Prowl could remember the absolute sparkache emanating from Bumblebee across their bond then but had been too blind to realize it for what it was. He couldn't sense a thing from the other now, having been blocked off completely by the small mech. It'd be a miracle of Primus if the scout still wanted to be with him after that. He needed to apologize and hoped with all his spark Bumblebee would still take him.

"I need to get back. Swoop, would you...?" The dinobot had already stood, nodding as a huge smile split his faceplate. Shifting back to his alt mode, he grabbed Prowl by the shoulders and lifted the slightly smaller bot off the beach into the air. Prowl grabbed onto to Swoop's legs, trusting the flier to carry him safely across the lake but not wanting to risk an accidental drop. It didn't take long for the two to reach the wharfs, Swoop dropping Prowl off on one of the docks. The Pteranadon circled around above him, calling out as if he needed to be reminded, "Prowl go apologize. Make things right. Swoop kick aft if not."

Prowl gave him half-hearted smile, waving after him as the flier took off back across the lake. He watched him until he was nothing more than a tiny dot flying down towards the rock-enclosed valley on the island then walked to the beginning of the dock, shifting to motorcycle form once his pedes hit solid concrete. He didn't bother with his holoform; most of Detroit knew it by now anyway. Just as he leaving the docks and turning onto the route that would take him back to the base, his comm. link pinged. Before he had a chance to answer though, Ratchet's gruff voice cut through.

**:Alright, Prowl. What'd you do to the kid?:**

If he could've ignored the question, he would have gladly done so. Just from it alone, Prowl knew that they didn't know what occured between him and Bumblebee little more than five Earth hours ago which left him with two possibilities: they either hadn't seen it yet and Bumblebee was reluctant to come out of their room or the beetle had already painted over the mark and was too depressed to confide in any of his teammates. And Prowl just wasn't ready to admit to them what he'd done.

Instead, he settled for playing dumb.

**:What do you mean, Ratchet?:**

**:What I mean is none of us have been able to find Bumblebee for the last three hours.: **If not for the fact he was known for a quick reaction time, Prowl would have likely crashed into the oncoming car, unintentionally swerving into the other lane and back again, at Ratchet's words. Bumblebee was missing? Fearing the worst, Prowl picked up his speed, though he was unsure of where to start looking. When he got no response from the ninja, Ratchet spoke again, **:We've looked everywhere, Prowl. Tried every camera we have in Detroit, nothing. Spark signature's not registering with the computer, and every time we try his comm. link, we get nothing but static. It's like he's dropped off the face of the planet.:** In his panicked state of mind, it took Prowl a moment to run the given information through his processor, but once all the facts pulled together, the last statement was more of clue than any reason to worry. Understanding dawned on the black and gold bike, weaving his way through the traffic until he came to the turn-off leading away to the forest.

**:I know where he is.:**

_0000_

Sunset. The bright yellow orb turning burnt orange as it drifted down on the horizon, painting the sky gold and pink. The colors would shift soon enough to include orange and a deep, dark blue as night approached. It could have been romantic if not for the only one watching it was a spark-broken yellow mech. Despondent blue optics watched the scenery without really registering what was taking place. Birds flew out over the trees in aerobatic displays, the quiet chirping of cricket song filling the otherwise silent air, leaves drifting down from their branches on the soft breeze. None of it mattered to him.

Cycling a long, slow sigh, Bumblebee leaned his helm back against the tree he was using as support. He had been there for the last four hours, having snuck out through the hole in Prowl's roof. He'd wanted to be alone, truly alone, and he'd known exactly where to go. He and Prowl had stumbled across the place by accident. Their only intention had been to sneak out and have some fun without the others finding out. The hills surrounding the area, however, were heavy with an iron ore that interferred with any and all signals. He could remember the verbal lashing they'd gotten from Prime for not responding to a back-up call, defending that they hadn't even known their comm. links had gone off. Since then, they took to care to avoid the area unless they wanted some privacy without being interrupted. Now, he found himself alone in what was supposed to be a private haven for the both of them.

Grimancing, his spark throbbing, he half-shuttered his optics. Almost in a daze, he brought his servo up to his faceplate, running his digits lightly along his cheek. The black scuff still adorned his faceplate, but he no longer cared if it was still there or not. The physical pain meant nothing to him compared to the turmoil his spark was currently in. Prowl had given up. The one mech he loved more than anything didn't want to 'deal' with him anymore. In his meta, he saw Prowl, expression angered as he lashed out, mouth forming a feral sneer that matched his engine's revving. The words that had left the cyberninja's mouth kept repeating in his processor followed by the harsh contact of his servo to the scout's cheek. Bumblebee knew it was an accident, a mistake made in the heat of the moment, but it still hurt that Prowl had tried to push him away, serving to reinforce his statements.

Bumblebee couldn't deny that the very idea of living without Prowl by his side made him sick to his tanks. However, if it was what the black mech wanted, he'd give him that, and even if Prowl didn't want to leave him, could he ever trust him again? These thoughts only sent him deeper into depression. With a soft keen, he drew his knees to his chassis, clicking in despair. The quiet pede-steps went unheard by him until the deep voice sounded in his audios.

"Bumblebee." His helm snapped up to the side, optics widening. Standing above him, Prowl was still, his mouth a sorrowful frown as he stared at the beetle. The ice-blue visor was titled in way that suggested the black mech was as miserable as he was right now. One of his servos was resting on the tree while the other hung down by his leg. Neither moved, both staring at each, waiting for the other the other to do or say something. It was Bumblebee who eventually made the first move.

He tried to bolt. He wasn't sure what made him do it, only that he wanted to. For some unexplainable reason, he wanted to get away from Prowl. He didn't get far as Prowl gently grabbed hold of his wrist, firmly pulling him back against his frame. Strong arms wrapped around Bumblebee's torso just under the lower windshield on his chassis. Bumblebee struggled to break free to no avail.

"Let me go!" Prowl's arms tightened ever so slightly around him.

"No."

"P-please!" Bumblebee sobbed, trying to pry the black arms from around his middle. Prowl didn't loosen his hold though his spark felt like it was shattering. It sounded as if his fears had been confirmed. Bumblebee didn't want anything to do with him, but he wasn't leaving until he said what he came to say. The scout's struggles quit as he dissolved into a crying mess, leaning forward over his captor's arms. He just wanted to be left alone, to suffer alone if he had to. It greatly surprised him when he heard clicks coming from Prowl's own vocals. Turning in the embrace, he saw that Prowl was crying, the sound entirely foreign to Bumblebee as he'd never heard more than one click ever leave the ninja. Turning completely around in the encircling hold, he wrapped his arms around Prowl's neck and dug his faceplate into the black shoulder, all thoughts of trying to get away disappearing from his processor.

"I'm sorry. I'm so _sorry_, Bumblebee," Whispers. Pleading. Desperate. He'd never heard Prowl sound so distraught, "After everything you've been through...I shouldn't have said what I said," He pulled away just enough to see Bumblebe's faceplate. The black scuff still marred the light grey metal, the proof of his crime right there in front of his optics. Prowl gently cupped his cheek, running his thumb lightly over the mark, "Or done something so horrible to you. I can't forgive myself, and I have no right to ask you to forgive me, but please." He pulled the smaller mech closer, head resting on the other's. His next words were little more than a whisper, "Give me another chance."

Bumblebee was torn. He was still horribly depressed by the mech's betrayal, the stinging words still fresh on the emotional wounds they had caused. At the same time, he really did want to forgive Prowl, to say it didn't matter and forget about it, but he just couldn't. It was going to take time before he could entirely trust the black mech again. Venting a sigh, he buried his faceplate into the black chassis, staring absently at the ground.

"Am I worth it?" Prowl tensed at the smaller mech's quiet question, "You said you gave up. Do you still want to put up with me?" Prowl couldn't feel anything aside from his own shame. Coming from Swoop had been bad enough but to hear his bondmate subtly degrading himself because of what he'd said was more than he could take. What could he possibly say to make Bumblebee see how much he cared? Did he really need to say anything at all? In one swift motion, Prowl had moved his servo from around the beetle's waist, cupped his chin, and tilted his faceplates up to meet his. Bumblebee didn't have time to react as Prowl's lips crashed against his own, claiming his mouth in a passionate kiss. The act surprised the younger mech. He wondered what had prompted the older to do something so impulsively.

Tentatively, he opened the bond and was nearly overwhelmed by all the grief, guilt, and regret Prowl was carrying in his spark, some of it from the past, more for the sparkling they had lost, and most from the events of earlier in their room. Above all else, he felt the cyberninja's absolute love and devotion to him, and the shame he felt for hurting the mech he'd given his spark to. He might've cried at the wave of emotions if not for the kiss and dimly, he remembered that he was still with the ninja. He twined his arms back around Prowl's neck, pulling him closer to return the kiss. Prowl's glossa swiped along his lips, and he eagerly opened his mouth, letting the ninjabot explore. His servos moved of their own accord, slipping from around Prowl's neck, tracing along well-known seams in the mech's sides, eliciting a small moan from the dark bot.

Prowl hadn't intended on the events that would follow. Interface had certainly not been one of his goals for coming here, but as Bumblebee's digits dove into those seams, digging and stroking at the wires underneath his armour, drawing a deep moan from his vocals, he couldn't deny the need for release, the desire to feel Bumblebee's body around his and hear him call his name in the midst of overload. The mininbot's grinding hips against his own proved that his little bot wanted the same thing. His core temperature steadily rising, Prowl gently eased Bumblebee to the ground, crawling over him to straddle his hips. Their kiss broke as Prowl's digits worked their way into a seam to tease the wires there, drawing a mewl from Bumblebee's vocalizer. Prowl smirked then turned his attention to Bumblebee's neck, nipping and licking at the cables in a way that caused the yellow mech to gasp and whine and moan almost at once.

"Prooowl..."

"You...are so much more than I deserve," His voice was thick with lust, hot air cycling over the black protective plating. Tan digits dug deeper into the wiring. The lithe yellow frame arched and writhed beneath him, faceplates flushed, hazed optics turning a dark turquoise. In the setting sun, his armour shone a rich, deep gold, highlighting every line and curve. Prowl's engine rumbled at the sight, spark shivering at the moan that left the beetle's lips as made his way down, "And Primus be damned if I let anyone else have you." As if to emphasize his claim, he bit down on the plating of Bumblebee's hip, just hard enough to sting, before trailing kisses to his abdomen.

Bumblebee whined in pleasure, unable to control his body as Prowl dragged his glossa up his mid-driff, hips bucking just slightly off the ground, engine revving. In his fuzzing processor, he vaguely wondered if this was Prowl's way of making up for the pain he'd caused the beetle. He wouldn't have had objections if so and would almost welcome another fight as long as it led to this: the carressing touches, the soft lips against his plating, that teasing glossa, and, oh, the anticipation for what had yet to come. It occured to the scout that he, too, needed to make up for all the trouble he'd caused the black and gold mech, taking for granted the care he'd given and ignoring his own well-being after the loss. That, and he couldn't just let Prowl give him all this without giving him the same in return.

With that tell-tale mischievious glint in his optics, Bumblebee managed to flip their positions, settling himself between the cycleformer's legs and draping his body over the other's chassis. Capturing the parted lips, he dug his yellow digits into the transformation seams just under the sides of the black chest armour. Prowl moaned into the kiss, running his servos along Bumblebee's thighs up to his hips. The scout drew away from Prowl only to latch onto the cables in his neck the next moment, giving them the same treatment his had been given. Cooling fans whirred to life, desperately trying to cool the overheated circuits of both mechs, each arching into the other. One yellow and black servo traced the gold design on Prowl's chassis, running his fingertips over the sensitive headlight, and enjoying the deep moan he received as a result. The other slipped down to stroke the casing of Prowl's interface circuitry, looking for the right spot.

Before he could find it, Prowl grabbed his hand and pulled it away, changing their positions so that he was hovering over Bumblebee once more. The little mech pouted, disappointed that his work had been interrupted, but the small, devious smile Prowl gave him kept him from protesting..much.

"Aww. No fair." Prowl chuckled at the beetle's whine, moving his servo along the inside of the yellow thigh, receiving whimpers and moans of longing when he began stroking the 'Y' shaped panel. With much more ease than the younger, he found the spot on Bee's panel and pressed, sliding it away. He coaxed the yellow and black spike from its housing. Wrapping his servo around the base, Prowl began to slowly pump the smaller mech, mouth returning to his neck. Bumblebee's intakes cycled fast, his hands moving frantically along Prowl's body to reciprocate the pleasure he was receiving. One settled on one of the thrusters on the cyberninja's chassis, digits teasing the inside of the turbines. The other found the seam in Prowl's hip while he turned his head just enough to take the point of one golden chevron into his mouth, running his glossa over the sensitive appendage.

Prowl moaned in ecstasy, increasing his pace on the little bot's spike. He soon moved from the twitching cable to trace the rim of Bumblebee's valve. The scout mewled around his chevron, the sound sending delicious shocks through his systems. He left Bumblebee's neck to claim his mouth once more, swallowing the gasp he made as Prowl pushed his digit into the tight, slick port, thrusting his glossa past the open lips. They hadn't interfaced since the sparkling's termination, and Bumblebee's passage was a vice. Prowl reminded himself that he would have to be gentle. Moving his digit in and out of the port, making sure to stroke every hypersensitive wire he could reach, he moved his other servo up to his mate's helm, closing his digits around and stroking the little yellow horn.

Bumblebee was incoherent with pleasure, his grip strengthing on Prowl's thruster. He let out a muffled cry of bliss as a second digit was added then a third, his valve gently stretched by the ninja-bot. Arching into the touches, Bumblebee's small servo traveled back down to Prowl's panel, sliding it away and teasing the ninja's spike out to its full length, the taller mech shuddering at the touch. Prowl groaned, breaking the kiss to stare into the scout's hazy, unfocused optics. His visor flashed as he pumped his digits faster, earning a longing moan. Blue optics locked with his own, pleading, lustful.

"Prowl, please..." The begging tone of Bumblebee's voice sent his spark shuddering with delight, "Take me."

The request was all he needed. Pulling his digits from the prepared port, Prowl guided the tip of his cord to Bumblebee's waiting entrance. Bumblebee whimpered as Prowl eased his cable through the taut wires, taking care not to cause the little mech any discomfort. The cyberninja delved his spike deeper until he was almost buried in the minibot, stopping just short of his socket. He took a moment to enjoy the tight heat surrounding his cable before pulling back half-way and pushing in slowly, setting a steady pace. Bumblebee felt himself contract around Prowl, his hips bucking to meet each slow, powerful thrust, sensory array afire with passion.

Oh, how he'd missed this, missed feeling the ninja move inside him, missed knowing the pleasures only they could give each other. A wordless plea, felt only through their bond, compelled Prowl to increase his tempo, gasping moans escaping Bumblebee's vocal capacitor every time his hips surged forward, hitting every sensor node in the little mech's valve. Bumblebee wrapped his legs around Prowl's waist, taking him deeper, the black and gold mech's name leaving his mouth in low, rasping intakes. Prowl knew overload was fast-approaching for his little bot, and with one last thrust, he connected to Bumblebee's socket, sending waves of spark energy rippling through the yellow mech's systems.

Bumblebee didn't last long after that, and neither did Prowl. Overload took them both, white-hot bliss crashing through their circuits as they pressed as close as they could to each other. Bumblebee threw his helm back, screaming Prowl's name to the darkening skies, transfluid spilling into his gestational chamber. Prowl's engine revved hard, the cyberninja crying out in ecstasy, both riding out the waves of pleasure until it was a warm, tingling haze in their systems. Collasping by the minbot's side, Prowl drew him to his chassis, the low rumbling of his engine keeping the younger in a state of blissful content.

Bumblebee marvelled at how weeks of tension seemed to melt away, and while he would have quite enjoyed a full connection, what the ninja had given him had been more than enough. He was also unsure if he might've lost himself to the moment and merged his spark with its other. As much as he hated to admit it, in the back of his processor, he knew he wasn't yet ready to try for another sparkling.

"That was stunning," Prowl's warm voice brought him back to the present. He smiled in agreement, nuzzling his neck and keening softly as Prowl disconnected, withdrawing from the smaller bot. Bumblebee wouldn't have minded staying like this, wrapped in mate's arms and enjoying the post-overload haze, but there was something bothering him, something that Prowl had said before he had accidentally struck him.

"You really think you're being punished? Because of something that happened stellar cycles ago?" He felt Prowl stiffen, his intakes hitching, and immediately felt guilty for spoiling the mood. Prowl didn't answer right away, tightening his arms around his waist. After a few kliks, he vented a hopeless sigh, staring at nothing in particular while gave his answer.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Prowl, you hiding everything from me was the problem in the first place," Bumblebee's tone was stern but gentle, "How am I supposed to help you if you don't tell me anything?" This earned a confused stare from the motorcyclist.

"You help me?" Bumblebee laughed at his almost bewildered question. Even Prowl had his moments of obliviousness. The yellow mech nuzzled into his chassis, further confusing the older.

"You've been pulling me back to my pedes every time I fell back into despair," Bumblebee spoke with a grateful air, drawing away to look Prowl in the face, "I've done nothing to help you, and you need it."

Prowl sighed again, sitting up to pull a cloth from his sub-space. He set about cleaning off the excess lubricants and transfluid from their armour, Bumblebee stifling a giggle at the touch. When he was done, he stored it away to be cleaned later, his gaze focusing on the black scuff on Bumblebee's cheek. His spark gave a dull throb, the scene from earlier in the day surfacing in his processor yet again.

"Maybe, but I can't forgive myself for what I did to you." Bumblebee frowned, reaching over to grab Prowl's servo in his own. Prowl squeezed it a loving manner.

"I forgive you. Why can't you?"

The cyberninja looked away from him, shame and guilt adorning his faceplates. "No one should ever hurt their bondmate in such a way." The self-loathing in Prowl's tone surprised Bumblebee. He knew Prowl hadn't meant to hurt him, but it was clear that, ever since he had, he'd been tearing himself inside out, and he had no idea what he could say to make Prowl change his mind. They sat in silence for awhile, the rising moon casting silvery rays of light over their frames. After nearly a breem, Bumblebee came up with what he hoped would be a good solution.

"I'll make you a deal," Prowl turned to him, shuttering his optics in curiousity, "How about we cover this up," He lightly tapped his cheek baring the mark, "never mention it again, help each other through this, and you can work on forgiving yourself when we try for another sparkling. Deal?" Prowl couldn't help but chuckle at his bondmate's proposal. True, he didn't want the others to know what he'd done and covering it up seemed like a wonderful idea, but he still didn't know if he could actually forgive himself. However, if it's what Bumblebee wanted, he'd certainly try.

"Deal. Now, we'd better get back before they get too worried about us." Prowl stood up, helping Bumblebee to his own pedes. They headed back through the woods until they reached the main road. Changing to their alt modes, they set off towards home, wanting nothing more than a long stasis rest after the stressful day had taken its toll. Hope for a quick recovery was finally within reach, and with that thought in mind, both Autobots felt a spark of true happiness they hadn't felt in a long time.


	8. Family

A/N: Oh, god. Please forgive this chapter. I've realized this is not some of my best work, but please understand. I only have one more week before finals so my mind is elsewhere when it comes to writing. I'm going to have to go back over my history book if I expect to pass. DX So, this will more than likely get rewrote if I have the time, but until then try to enjoy it.

This is the part where I would put all the names of people who are a)reviewing this story, b)watching this story, c)faving this story, or d) all of the above, but there are so many of you now, I just lost count. _ So to all of you, I say thank you. It means a lot to me. Please remember to review, though, as I would like to know what you all think of this story. Thank you, and enjoy.

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_**46. Family**_

By now, the spectacle that was the _Steelhaven_ drifting down from the upper atmosphere to the outskirts of Detroit was by no means a surprise though it never failed to draw a crowd. The citizens knew that the same robots always came to check on their heroes and hoped that they'd never try to take them away as they did the first time they were here. Fanzone, having been informed of the ship's arrival by Optimus, had set up a barrier to keep any wayward person from getting too close. Joining his police line was three of the mechs Detroit considered superheroes. The balding police chief looked up to the red and blue mech on his left.

"What are they here fer this time?"

"Yeah, Prime. They weren't supposed to visit us for another orbital cycle." Both Bulkhead and Ratchet had been curious ever since Optimus had told them Sentinel and his crew were arriving on Earth today, but he hadn't given them any clue as to why they were arriving so early. Only the three of them were here to greet the arriving Elite Guard team. Prowl and Bumblebee had been playing Twister when they left, and he didn't want to drag them along to get yelled at by Sentinel. It was the happiest any had seen the two in nearly six weeks, and no one wanted to spoil that. He didn't know what had brought on the sudden turnaround in their moods, though he could definitely guess.

The _Steelhaven_ landed in its usual place, wind gusts kicking up as the behemoth of a ship settled down. The ramp at the front of the ship lowered, and Optimus stepped forward to reluctantly greet the pompous blue Prime. Only to get bowled over by two blurs of red and gold that took off screeching past the other two mechs and into the city. Ratchet and Bulkhead watched them go then turned to see Prime pushing himself up off the ground. The red and blue mech groaned as his processor ached from the impact.

"Sorry, OP. They're just a bit excited." Optimus looked up to see a smiling Jazz with a visibly annoyed Sentinel behind him.

"Excited? They haven't shut up since they got on-board. I hope to Primus you had a good reason for bringing them here, Optimus." Sentinel shoved Jazz out of his way to glare daggers at his former friend. Optimus sighed, pushing himself to his pedes to look Sentinel in the optics.

"I had a very good reason, Sentinel," Optimus shot back, his optics narrowing slightly. The two Primes simply glared at each other until Ratchet came over, optic ridge raised.

"Anyone gonna tell me what _those _two are doing here?" He was clearly annoyed and pondering the possiblity of throwing a wrench at every bot in sight. Bulkhead was left alone by Fanzone who was ranting and raving his usual 'This is why I hate machines' and muttering something about speed limits. Optimus sighed, rubbing his temples. This was going to be a long week.

_0000_

"Right pede on green." Sari looked up from her spinner to the two mechs playing the game. Prowl shifted so that he could reach the mentioned square, turning to smile at Bumblebee who was waiting for his turn, limbs shaking as they supported him. Both looked back up at Sari, waiting for her call. Sari grinned back at them, hitting the spinner and waiting for the results. After a few seconds, it stopped on its pick, and she turned back to them, "Bumblebee, left servo on orange."

The scout smiled mischieviously, turning his body and stretching out over Prowl to reach the square on the other side of the ninja. He flashed a smug smirk to his bondmate as Sari giggled, hitting the spinner once again to get Prowl's next move. Prowl looked over their positions, realizing that he couldn't move his pedes without hitting Bumblebee and knocking him over and his servos would only go so far. He also noticed that Bumblebee's arm was thing only thing really supporting him, and it was shaking with the weight the yellow mech was putting on it. He wasn't going to stay up long.

"Ooh, this oughta be good. Left pede on red and right servo on--Hey!" She looked up when the familiar clang of metal falling to the ground filled the room to see that Bumblebee's arm had given out him, falling on top of Prowl causing the cyberninja to lose his balance and crash to the floor. Prowl sat up as much as he could with Bumblebee laying over his abdomen.

"If I didn't know you any better, I'd say you planned that," Prowl teased, an amused smirk on his face. Bumblebee grinned at him and twined his arms around his neck.

"Hmmm. Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't," The yellow mech's voice was practically a purr, "Works out fine for me. Dont'cha think, Prowler?" The darker bot groaned; he was going to murder Jazz for that nickname.

"You know I hate that."

"You didn't complain last night." Bumblebee leaned forward to give him a peck on the lips.

"HEY! Underaged teenager here! I don't need to hear that." Sari's cheeks were bright red, nearly matching her hair. Both mechs looked at her, Bumblebee grinning sheepishly while Prowl kept a devious smirk. Since apologizing for attacking her, Prowl didn't mind the techno-organic hanging around to help Bumblebee get past the sparkling's loss. It was a bit of relief to him, but there were some moments where she could get a little annoying such as this one. Fortunately, he knew how to get rid of her for awhile.

Bumblebee gasped as Prowl began playing with the wires on the side hidden from Sari's view. He tried to keep from making a noise and ended up letting out a squeak-like moan that Sari recognized for what it was. She covered her eyes and tried to keep her cheeks from getting any redder. She tried to get rid of the embarrassed smile as well; she knew what Prowl was trying to do by now, and it was almost a challenge to see how far he would go before she finally left.

"P-Prowl?!" Prowl smirked at Bumblebee's yelp, his servo traveling a little lower to his hip, causing him to moan a little deeper.

"Get a room, you two!" Sari had wanted to start another game, but it was obvious Prowl had other things in mind. With the others gone to greet Sentinel and his crew, they were almost alone with each other except for Sari, and she didn't want to have to go put up with that wind-bag of mech. Prowl spared a glance her way, smiling while he teased the cables in Bumblebee's hips.

"We already have one. You can stay or go if you wish." He began mouthing the cables of Bumblebee's neck. The little mech was trying his best not to squirm or make any noise to save Sari from any further embarrassment, but he was failing. Miserably. The red-head finally stood and gathered her things, turning away from the two.

"Alright, alright! I'm leaving. Next time, just ask, Prowl."

"Where's the fun in that?" Bumblebee was rubbing off on him. In a way, it was good that the usually stiff bot was lightening up, but it was also bad for her psyche if Prowl was using it to try and scar her for life. She left out the door, sighing. Sari loved that Prowl had forgiven her for what she'd said and didn't mind her hanging around, but God help her if he wasn't one of the biggest robo-hounds she'd ever seen.

Bumblebee shot his mate a mock glare, the effect completely ruined by the amused smile on his face.

"You're so mean." Prowl chuckled, pulling him closer.

"We're alone now, aren't we?" The scout shook his helm but didn't get a chance to reply as Prowl pulled him into a deep kiss. Bumblebee gave up trying to be annoyed with his mate for pulling such a stunt in front of Sari and melted into the kiss, trailing his fingers along the seams in Prowl's sides. Neither bot noticed the sound of approaching engines or the twin transformation sequences engaging until a new voice filled the room.

"Well, we just hate to interrupt what looks like a good make-out session..."

"But aren't you going to say hi, little bro?" Another voice finished the sentence, one Bumblebee recognized. He broke away from Prowl and looked up to the two red and gold mechs standing on either side of the couch. Both wore similar expressions of amusement at catching the two by surprise, those smiles broadening as Prowl's faceplates flushed a light red. Bumblebee leapt to his pedes and ran to the nearest twin, throwing his arms around the red mech.

"Sides! Sunny! What are you two doing here?" Sideswipe laughed and pet his little brother on the helm, a habit Bumblebee hated. He swatted Sideswipe's servo away only for Sunstreaker to do the same thing. Prowl rose up from his position on the floor, giving his 'brother-in-laws' (or so the human term went) a curious stare. Before the twins could come up with an explaination for their brother, the rest of the crew rolled in through the entrance and changed to their bipedal modes. Jazz waved to Prowl while Sentinel and Optimus continued some conversation they'd been engaged in on the way over. Bumblebee was flanked on either side by the twins as they made their way over to the rest of the group, Prowl internally sulking that they'd been interrupted.

"Well, it looks like they found the place alright." Jazz commented, pointing towards the two troublemakers. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe offered only their best smiles, one arm each around Bumblebee's shoulders.

"Of course, we found it alright. Our little Bee needed us." Sideswipe patted the top of Bumblebee's helm again. The yellow mech tried to ward off the awkward show of affection, but Sunstreaker kept him in place, the golden twin throwing Prowl a knowing glance.

"Although I'd say he was getting everything he _needed_ from you." At that, both twins started snickering. Sentinel shot the twins a reprimanding look, but they either took no notice or didn't really care. Knowing the twins, though, it was likely they had seen and were only tyring to piss off Sentinel by ignoring him. Optimus shook his helm though he didn't bother to hid the smirk. Prowl succeed in keeping his faceplates from heating up too much and crossed his arms.

"Not that we're not happy to see you," Prowl's near growling tone hid the slightly heated edge of his voice, "But what are you doing here?" The twins finally let go of their youngest brother who moved over to Bulkhead to retrieve Sari from his shoulder. Obviously, she hadn't gone very far when the two Lambos had pulled up. She sent a glare Prowl's way, her face still a light pink, that was largely ignored by the ninja-bot in favor of waiting for the Twins' excuse. They both exchanged a glance with Jazz (whose blank expression showed he was communicating with them through their comms.) then grinned those chesire grins again. Sunstreaker threw his arm around Prowl's shoulder and guided him back towards the others.

"What? We need a reason to visit our favorite stick in the mud?" Prowl groaned even as the rest of group chuckled. No doubt they were related to Bumblebee. He managed to pry himself from Sunstreaker to stand by Jazz as the two latched themselves onto Bumblebee again. Sari was sitting on his shoulder, and the four immediately began talking up a storm that eventually led to them racing outside to compete in some game. Ratchet, shaking his helm and mumbling something along the lines of 'high-grade', left for his medbay while Bulkhead went to watch the game outside. Sentinel and Optimus went to the monitors to begin their 'discussion', meaning at least a megacycle of nothing but the blue Prime's insults.

Left alone with Jazz, Prowl turned to his fellow cyberninja. Jazz offfered him a disarming smile, knowing exactly what the black mech was going to say. Prowl stared at him for a klik or two then sighed, turning on his heel to go watch the four playing outside. Confused, Jazz followed him. Outside, Sari and Bumblebee were playing hockey against Sunstreaker and Sideswipe who it seemed had picked up easily on the game. Prowl watched as the quartet had their fun, laughing and playing and throwing around mock insults to try and distract each other to score a point. Jazz was starting to think he'd thought wrong and was about to sit down and simply watch when Prowl finally spoke.

"What did you tell them?" Jazz resisted the urge to sigh. He should've known. He looked up at Prowl only to be met with the same visored stare, the black and gold motorbike keeping his expression blank.

"I told them not ta bring up anything that could upset Bee. From the looks of things, it seems you two are finally gettin' past what happened." Prowl visibly stiffened, his faceplates morphing into an expression of surprise.

"How did you--"

"Optimus," Jazz interrupted, trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible, "He contacted me after that thing with Sari and asked for a favor. Told me everything that happened," This time, the Elite ninja gave him a sympathetic look, "I'm sorry that happened to you." Prowl vented a sigh, fixing his gaze on the concrete ground.

"I should've known he was behind this."

"Hey, he's just tryin' ta help." Jazz defended, oblivious to the dangerous arua radiating off his friend. Prowl turned on him, keeping his voice low and even to keep from alerting everyone else.

"His 'helping' has been making things worse since the day we lost it. For once, I wish that mech had bothered to ask if we wanted any help." Prowl cycled a deep intake, turning away from Jazz again. The white mech was thoroughly confused. There must have been some details Optimus had forgotten to tell him. Or purposefully left out. Placing a hand on Prowl's shoulder, he waited until Prowl looked at him before he speaking again.

"He only told me about the sparklin' and what happened with Sari. You might wanna fill in some blanks for me, Prowl."

It was the second time in a week he'd had to tell someone the entire story. The only difference between Jazz and Swoop was that Jazz already had an idea about what was going on. Prowl only had to tell him the details Optimus didn't want to tell himself. It wasn't easy on his conscious telling the white cyberninja of the fight between him and his bondmate in which he'd said things he shouldn't have and struck Bumblebee across the face. By the time he was done, Jazz was left speechless while Prowl sulked. From across the hockey field, Bumblebee looked at over at his mate, feeling his discontent. Prowl noticed the worried look he was getting and smiled back, giving a wave to continue on with his game. The minibot hesitated for a moment then smiled back as he went back to playing with his brothers.

"Well, I can see why you'd be pretty fragged at OP for not telling you about this," Jazz shook his helm slowly then looked over at the ongoing game, "But ya gotta admit that his spark was in the right place when he asked me to bring them." Prowl followed his gaze, and he couldn't help but stare at the little yellow bot. Sideswipe hit the puck towards him, Bumblebee countering and sending it flying past both the twins into the goal. Both the scout and Sari cheered, Bulkhead adding another point to their scoreboard. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe tried to argue that the point wasn't fair, but Sari proved that it was.

In the end, they gave up on trying to win the game and dog-piled Bumblebee, pinching and poking him in just the right spots to make him laugh uncontrollably. Prowl felt a smile pulling on his mouth. The Elite Guard knew he'd gotten through and had probably helped Optimus win back Prowl's favor. Time to drive the point home. "In times like this, family is the most important thing. You know, he asked me to find Bluestreak, too." At the mention of Bluestreak, Prowl's helm snapped around to stare at Jazz in disbelief.

"My brother?" Jazz nodded in confirmation. Prowl let out a short laugh, "Couldn't find him?" The white mech threw his servos up in exasperation.

"When that bot wants to disappear, he sure knows how to stay hidden," Jazz vented a sigh, crossing his arms. Prowl chuckled, leaning against the wall of the old warehouse. Bluestreak had gone into hiding stellar cycles ago near the end of the war, though he'd left the hailing frequency for his ship with a few mechs he trusted. Prowl had been on his optics quest around then and didn't know that he'd disappeared until sometime after his master's deactivation. Primus knows he'd tried to find his only relative, but he'd never been able to reach him.

Another high-pitched laugh filled the air as Bumblebee tried to get away from his brothers, Sari having joined in with their onslaught. He wriggled around and flailed out his arms to keep the two older mechs away but because he had to watch out for Sari, he just wasn't able to keep up. The pure joy on Bumblebee's faceplate filled Prowl with a sense of peace he hadn't known since the loss. Ever since they'd 'made up' and agreed to help each other, things had been getting better, slowly, surely. There were still the moments of doubt and grief, but they were infrequent and relatively unimportant in light of the possiblity that soon they could try for another sparkling. Maybe a few days around his family would be good for Bumblebee and finally let them put all the despair, what little remained of it anyway, to rest.

"Jazz, remind me to thank Optimus later."


	9. Creation

A/N: Well, you all asked for it, and I delivered. I want to thank everybody who's faving, reviewing, watching, etc. because it all means a lot to me. Two years ago, I wasn't much of a supporter of slash and couldn't fathom the idea of TFs being together like this. Look at me now! I blame Death for she corrupts minds and does it spectacularly! :D Now enjoy this smut filled chapter, and please leave a review as I love to hear your thoughts. It is all I ask of you. Unless you want to tell me I'm touched in the head, in which case I point at laugh at you. Ha!

FYI: I didn't intend for what feels like the pun at the end of this chapter. You'll know it when you see it. I tried forever after spotting it to think something different to put, but nothing came. For reference, the title of this story more or less describes just how delicate such situations can be because until things get better, you never know what could happen, and you have to be careful to avoid causing anymore harm than what's been done. I think Optimus and Sari pretty much cover the 'we are idiots when it comes to this' category. And now, that's about it. Please enjoy.

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****47. Creation**_

Bumblebee shifted in discomfort on the berth, venting a frustrated sigh. Despite his best efforts, the uncomfortable heat that had settled into his frame refused to dissipate. He'd tried everything from pouring cold water on himself (which had hissed and turned to steam the nanoklik it hit his armour) to removing his chassis, wheel-wells, and subspace compartment to release some of the built-up heat in his frame. It had helped some, but after a few kliks of feeling terribly exposed without his chassis, he'd replaced it and settled for laying on his back, the cool metal of the berth doing wonders on his exposed circuitry.

The heat had begun to build during stassis, and he could only guess after Prowl had left for his morning patrol followed by monitor duty. Otherwise, the ninja-bot would still be here, voicing his concerns to Ratchet who would only laugh and tease the younger mech while he examined the scout. At least that had finally gone back to normal. Since the sparkling's deactivation, Ratchet had been more concerned with the sub-compact's health than usual, looking into every little problem Prowl reported to him. In a way, he found it cute that Prowl was worried to the point of telling the old medic even the most minor of problems.

Bumblebee's engine purred at the thought of the black and gold mech, absently noting his temperature climbing just a little higher. In the last two months, Prowl had been his biggest support, never leaving his side, and offering any comfort he could. He preffered not to think of the fight they'd had which had resulted in the harsh words and accidental hit Prowl still hadn't forgiven himself for. He doubted that he ever would considering Prowl still blamed himself for what happened to Master Yoketron, and he hadn't even been there. It was going to take a long time before he would ever completely forgive himself. If only Bluestreak had been able to come along with Jazz and the others.

A smile found its way on to his face as he thought of Optimus asking Jazz to bring Sunstreaker and Sideswipe to Earth. That had meant a lot to him. Their visit had helped him to put whatever misery was left behind him and let him feel more like his old self. Bumblebee laughed as he thought of the pranks they had pulled on Ratchet and of dents the twins now sported on their armour, something Sunstreaker had not been too happy about. He found himself playing more games with Sari, racing with the twin Lambos, and even annoying Prowl a little more who would smile and laugh it off more often than he would admit.

With his thoughts drifting back to Prowl, Bumblebee moved again, trying to get comfortable even as the heat from his frame began to warm the berth. Every now and again, he would catch the cyberninja staring into space or meditating, and by simply prodding through their bond, he could tell exactly where his thoughts were taking him. Family. Prowl wanted a family. There wasn't a time of day now where the ninja-bot wasn't thinking about what it would be like to be father or be able to hold a sparkling. It still hurt to think about what had almost been, but not so much anymore the scout was afraid that same thing would happen all over again.

Maybe it was time to give it another chance.

Recognizing the growing heat as arousal, Bumblebee scanned the signatures present in the base, delighted to find Prowl's among them. The only other signatures he picked up on were his own and Jazz's. The others must have been out patrolling or helping the humans with some project. A devious smile crossing his faceplates, he trailed one digit up along the seam in his side, shivering at the touch, making sure to send the sensation it induced across the bond.

Sitting at the monitors in the common room, Prowl gasped and pressed his servos into the console, unprepared for the rush of arousal through his circuits. His could feel his systems beginning to heat, his spark pulsing erratically in response to its other. Fearing that Jazz had heard him, he glanced sideways to see the white ninja was completely distracted by the TV, watching something called MTV Classics. He vented a quiet sigh of relief before addressing the source of his _problem_.

_You're gonna get it for that._ Prowl warned, trying to push down the desire warming up his systems.

_Well, why don't you come and __**punish **__me then? _It was the only warning Prowl had before another flash of heat traveled through his overwarm circuits, forcing him to bite his glossa to keep the moan of pleasure that he was sure mirrored Bumblebee's from being heard by Jazz. There was no way he'd be able to control himself for much longer. Drawing in a calming intake of air, he turned to the Elite Guard, hoping his cooling fans didn't kick on as he forced himself to speak in a normal tone of voice.

"Jazz?" The white mech turned towards him, his optic ridges raised, "Can you watch the monitors a...awhile?" Prowl hated that he stammered, but his bondmate wasn't making things easy for him. Jazz didn't seem to notice it though and nodded, leaning over to the table to grab the remote. He turned off the TV before getting up to go take Prowl's place.

"Yeah, sure. Ain't much on TV anyway. Don't see what the organics find interesting about..." He trailed off when he noticed that black and gold mech was already gone. Normally, the motorcyclist would stay to chat with him or explain certain things about the organics and their customs. Shrugging, Jazz went over to the monitors and took a seat, turning on some music to keep him interested. If he'd bothered to look down the hallway, he would've seen Prowl being jumped by Bumblebee as his door slid open.

The scout's mouth covered his own, one servo flying up to stroke the thruster on his right, the other tracing feather-light circles over his side. Moaning into the kiss, Prowl backed Bumblebee into their room just enough for the door slide shut. With the yellow mech still kissing him, he moved one servo to the wall, fumbling to find the keypad as he dug his digits into the wiring on Bee's side. When his fingertips brushed against the keypad, he quickly punched in the code that would lock the door. Prowl broke away from Bumblebee as the door keyed shut, the taller mech drawing in quick intakes to cool his overheated circuits.

Bee's optics had darkened to a deep azure, an unusual small smirk in place of his normal smile. The heat radiating from the smaller mech's frame ratcheted his own arousal up higher. He didn't fail to notice the discarded subspace compartment and wheel-wells on the floor, planning to take full advantage of anything he could to make his lover overload hard. Gently digging tan digits into the exposed wiring and circuitry in Bumblebee's back, Prowl led the sub-compact over to the berth, engine purring at the low moans issuing from his vocalizer. Bumblebee arched into him, rubbing at certain points on his thrusters to draw needy whimpers from the cyberninja, loving entirely the way he could make Prowl melt under his touch.

He felt himself being pushed back onto the berth, the warm mouth latching onto his neck, glossa teasing the cables, elicting a mewl of delight. Bumblebee bucked his hips, grinding them against Prowl's own as he worked his little, yellow fingers into the gaps where Prowl's thighs attached to his pelvis. Prowl shuddered at the sensations the little bot was igniting, pressing a little harder into the integrating circuit panels before moving to stimulate well-known sensors throughout his armour. He traced his lips along Bumblebee's jawline, gradually moving to claim the little bot's mouth with his own. Bumblebee ran his glossa over Prowl's lips, the ninjabot eagerly allowing entrance, letting his own glossa duel with Bee's for dominance.

They moved against one another, writhing and arching, caressing and stroking, drawing longing moans from each other at every sensual touch. Their servos moved carefully over every inch of plating, as if rememorizing what they already knew so well, searching for every sensitive or over-receptive hot-spot they knew would garner the most pleasurable response. Quiet whimpers and moans filled the space between them as their processors clouded with rapturous static, giving themselves over to the sensations they gave the other. Through the haze of ecstasy, however, Prowl was aware of the small servos pawing at chassis in a near desperate manner. He knew exactly what Bee wanted. Surprised but not unwilling, he pulled away to look the scout in the optics.

"Are you sure?" As keen as he was to try, Prowl didn't want to do anything unless he was certain Bumblebee was ready. The yellow mech nodded, smiling.

"I want a sparkling, Prowl." He nuzzled his faceplate into into Prowl's neck, lightly mouthing the sensitive cables there, eliciting small moans from the darker mech as he continued, "And I know how bad you want to be a father. Please."

Prowl couldn't help the smile pulling at his mouth. Was he that obvious? Ever since that horrible day, beneath all the misery and depression, he could never help but wonder what it would've looked like, if would've been a mech or femme, or what it would've been like to hold it for the first time which in truth had only served to deepen the sick depression they had found themselves in. Nevertheless, he wouldn't deny that the desire to have another had been festering in his processor for awhile now, but because Bumblebee's emotional state had been such a wreck before and had only just gotten stable recently, he hadn't wanted to upset his bondmate with the suggestion.

Now that Bee had brought it up first, he felt as though a tremendous weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Leaning forward, he captured Bumblebee's lips in a soft kiss. Bumblebee returned it, sliding his hand down to remove the covering of Prowl's interface equipment. Prowl moaned into the beetle's mouth as his spike was released from its housing, easily pressurising in the yellow and black servo. Bumblebee ran his digits over the sheathing from the base to the tip, eventually trailing them down to the ninja's port. He gasped when he felt his own panel being removed and his spike extending, Prowl using the opportunity to slip his glossa past his lips. Prowl immediately pushed two digits into the minibot's port, stroking them in and out even as Bumblebee did the same.

It wasn't long before Prowl pulled his digits from Bee's port, sliding down the berth to take the smaller mech's spike into his mouth, glossa sliding along the hypersensitive sheathing while he dug into the seams of Bumblebee's inner thighs to stroke the wiring underneath. Above him, he heard Bumblebee whining and mewling in pleasure, his name mixed somewhere in between. Bumblebee's spark was pulsing frantically, servos gripping the edges of the berth hard enough to leave dents. His core temperature shot up, and he was unsure how much longer he could hold back.

Prowl kept on with his ministrations until he heard the familiar, restless moan leave Bumblebee's vocals, crawling back over the yellow mech. They lined up perfectly, pressing their spikes into one another as if they were built for each other, moaning and gasping at the familiar sensation of feeling each other so intimately. Prowl pressed as deep as he could into the minibot's port, and Bumblebee reciprocated the action, back arching to plunge deeper into the cyberninja. They caressed and stroked at sensors, their sparks begging to be free of their casings, heightening the pleasure.

Unable to hold back any longer, Prowl forced his cable through the bunched wires, shuddering when he connected to his bondmate's socket. Bumblebee cried out in ecstasy, feeling the surge of spark energy and electricity zipping through his systems. Wanting to make sure he sparked when their life forces finally joined, the yellow mech tilted his pelvis up to plug into the cyberninja, returning the same surges, enjoying the small whimpers that left his vocalizer. Arching and writhing as they sent and received the waves of energy, their chestplates split and retracted, the crystalline lights brightening the normally dim room.

They brought their chassis as close as their bodies would allow, Bumblebee's arms automatically twining around Prowl's neck. Locking their lips together, they allowed their sparks the liberty they craved, the pulsing orbs melting together, filling both mechs with an unimaginable sense of completeness. Every memory and thought from the past two orbital cycles rushed through the connection, giving each a deeper insight to just how much the sparkling's loss had hurt them. Bumblebee was shocked beyond words at the guilt and grief that still haunted Prowl, the nightmares he had mentioned and his own fears regarding the possiblity of repeat tragedy. Prowl couldn't help but marvel at just how hard his little mech had fought with inner battles to finally get to this.

Before they could dwell on these thoughts for much longer, overload swept through both mechs, feeling the warmth of transfluid spilling into the other. Bumblebee broke their kiss to cry out, optics flashing white, his port clenching tight around Prowl who was gasping silently into his neck at the instense discharge of pleasure and ecstasy tearing through his systems. The yellow mech felt an indescribable love for his mate, knowing he was the only one who would ever see him like this. As the overload ebbed away, and the two began drifting off into stasis, Bumblebee felt the tell-tale pull on his spark as it seperated from Prowl's and smiled, nuzzling into the cyberninja's neck and shuttering his optics, content and joy spreading throughtout his frame.

Primus had indeed been cruel, taking their first from them just days after their discovery of its shared existence within his chamber. With any sort of luck and hope, they would keep this one and relish in that moment they would get to lay their optics on it for the first time. Both scout and ninja, arms wrapped around each other and pressed together, fell into peaceful recharge with this thought, chestplates closing and sealing away the new, fragile life created between them.


	10. Trouble Lurking

A/N: This is just filler honestly. I have nothing more to say on it. Enjoy.

Review please.

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_**25. Trouble Lurking**_

As expected, Bumblebee began purging within five days of sparking, the better part of his early mornings spent hunched over a trash bin. Not that he really cared, however. It only reaffirmed that the pull on his spark had been real and not some imagined trick of his mind. Neither he nor Prowl could contain their excitement, but before they told the others, they thought it best to have Ratchet run a check to make sure and, if Bumblebee was expecting, to see if the sparkling was healthy. The old medic was more than happy to scan the beetle's systems for signs that he could be carrying. After reviewing the results, he glanced briefly at the couple sitting side by side, waiting anxiously for his diagnosis then looked back at the datapad, smirking.

"Let's see here. Redirection of energy flow to your spark, frequent purgings, and a new, unknown spark signature. Yeah, I'd definitely say you're carrying, Bumblebee," Ratchet announced, watching with amusement as the yellow mech cheered joyfully and threw his arms around Prowl. The black and gold mech laughed, genuinely laughed, and returned the embrace, smiling as Bumblebee whispered 'thank you' over and over again in his audios, though Ratchet had a feeling it wasn't directed solely at the ninja. After a few kliks, Prowl gently pulled away from the over-joyed beetle and looked at the medic.

"Ratchet, is it healthy?" Ratchet immediately caught on to what the ninja was really asking.

"As far as I can tell, it's one of the healthiest I've seen. I still want Bumblebee in here once a week for check-ups." Both mechs nodded in understanding. Neither wanted to chance something going wrong without them knowing. Ratchet looked back to his data-pad, writing down the information and the date of Bee's next check-up. He could hear the contented rumble of the yellow mech's engine as he snuggled into Prowl's chassis, running his servo over the area of his own sparkchamber. The ghost of a smile played its way across the medic's tired, old faceplate.

When the two had first come in with suspicions that Bumblebee was carrying, Ratchet had been both pleased but apprehensive. While he hadn't shown it much, he knew that the yellow mech was dying to have a sparkling. Anyone who paid close attention would know that since their fight, Prowl and Bumblebee had been at it like petro-rabbits, interfacing whenever they caught the chance, but Ratchet had yet to see any scratches on their chassis that would've given away an attempt at procreation until a few days ago, which was when he suspected the sparkling had been created. That they'd gotten that lucky on the first try was nothing short of a miracle.

"Hey, Doc-bot," Pulled from his musings, Ratchet looked up from his data-pad at the expectant mech, "We're gonna go tell the rest of the team."

Prowl nodded in agreement, "Yes. It's best that they know as soon as possible."

"Know what?" Jazz's cool, smooth voice filled the medbay, the visored mech wearing his usual lop-sided grin. Half-expecting the others to be behind him, Prowl was only slightly surprised to see that he was alone. Bumblebee leapt off the berth and latched onto Prowl in a way that forced the taller mech to hold him so he wouldn't fall on his aft. Clearly, it was meant to embarrass him in front of the higher-up though Jazz seemed to think it a cute display of affection. "Seriously, what's going on?"

"I'm carrying!" Bumblebee exclaimed before Prowl could announce it himself. Behind the visor, Jazz's optics widened with surprise. After a moment or two, he threw a knowing glance Prowl's way.

"'Watch the monitors', huh? Shoulda known you were gettin' Bee knocked up," It hadn't taken Jazz long to pick up on the human terminology, and his use of it was as good as Bumblebee's own, but at the moment, Prowl couldn't have cared. His faceplates had heated to a deep cherry color, realizing what Jazz was talking about. Bumblebee couldn't stifle his snickers, earning a glare from his bondmate. The Elite Guard's smile widened as he continued, "Oh, I wouldn't be laughing, Bee. You two should really consider sound-proofing that room." This time, Ratchet joined in laughing as Bumblebee immediately shut up, his cheeks flaring.

"Oh, shut it, Doc-bot." Was all he muttered, both he and Prowl focusing on one spot on the floor. Ratchet managed to spot chuckling long enough to form a question to Jazz.

"What do you need? Nothing wrong with you, is there?" Jazz shook his helm, waving one servo in a dismissive manner.

"Nah. I'm just here to tell you what I told OP and Bulkhead. Sentinel's on his way back to Earth. He'll be here in a few solar cycles."

"Aww, man. That means you're leaving, and we're gonna get griped at." Bumblebee pouted, crossing his arms over his chassis. Sentinel had never been his favorite bot, especially during boot camp, and having him come to Earth, even if he brought Jazz with him, was torture. Jazz didn't smile or tease instead taking on a serious font.

"Well, it's more than that. You know Wasp escaped from the stockades right?" The yellow mech nodded, wary, "I hate to be the one to tell ya this, but his was signal last tracked heading this direction." Bumblebee froze, his optics widening. Wasp was heading for Earth, for him. He knew the green bot would try to get some form of revenge on him for mistakenly sending him to the stockades rather than the real traitor, Longarm. What he didn't know was if the former Autobot would try to harm his sparkling just to get it.

Prowl watched his bondmate carefully, noticing the miniscule trembling of his frame, but even he couldn't tell if it was from fear or apprehension. Nevertheless, he placed his servo on the yellow shoulder and turned to Jazz.

"Do you know when he's supposed to get here?" The Elite Guard shrugged, an apologetic frown on his mouth.

"Sorry, Prowl, but the little slagger disappeared through a spacebridge about a week before OP contacted me. There's no telling when he'll be here." Prowl looked back at Bumblebee, noticing the minibot keeping one arm over his chassis in a protective manner. He was worried for their newspark as well, and there was no way in the Pit some vengence bound mech was getting to Bumblebee. Prowl refused to let anything happen to this sparkling.

One arm wrapping protectively around the smaller bot's shoulders, Prowl looked back up at Jazz, his expression as serious as the white mech's own, "We must not let Wasp reach this base. Innocent or not, he will still try to attack Bumblebee." Ratchet nodded in agreement, his faceplates settling once more into his usual scowl.

"The last thing the kid needs is to get in a fight. It ain't good for the sparkling."

"Right. We need to talk to OP about security." Jazz and Ratchet hurriedly left the room to go talk to their leader, leaving the two soon-to-be parents in thier worries. Bumblebee wouldn't stop fidgeting, a sure sign of his anxiety. Prowl drew him into a tight embrace, feeling the slight tremors run throughout the yellow frame.

"I've never seen you this scared," The black mech voiced his concern, the confirmed fear transferring across their bond to him.

"I'm not scared for me," Was the reply he received, Bumblebee's servo still covering the area of his sparkchamber. Nervous blue optics tilted up to look at him, "Jazz says Wasp went crazy in the stockades. I don't know what he's going to do to me once he gets here, and if he finds out about our sparkling," Sighing, Bumblebee dug his faceplate into Prowl's chassis, seeking comfort from the the familiar pulse of his mate's spark, "he could try to harm it."

A feral growl rose from Prowl's vocal's, his arms tightening around the little mech. "NO," Suddenly, Prowl's servos were on his shoulders, holding him at arms length. He covered Bumblebee's own hand with one of his own over the beetle's sparkchamber, a determined expression etched onto his faceplates, "We went through too much just to get this one. I want to keep it no matter what. Nothing is going to take it away from us."

Bumblebee gave a small smile, leaning forward to capture the motocyclist's lips. Prowl smiled into the kiss, wrapping his arms back around his mate. Across the bond, Bumblebee heard Prowl make an otherwise silent vow. _I will protect you and the sparkling with my life. _

By nature, Bumblebee hated to rely on anyone to keep him safe or anything else along those lines. He was usually capable of handling himself just long enough for help to arrive, but in his current condition, he wasn't allowed that. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed Prowl to keep his word and protect him. The tug on his spark from their child was the only reason he needed to let himself be watched over his fiercely protective bondmate. Bumblebee's only hope was that Wasp didn't actually show up at the base, and even if he did, he'd more than likely find a one-mech army waiting to take him down.


	11. Insanity Pt 1

A/N: Sorry for the long update. RL has been hell. But here's pt 1 of Insanity, Wasp's arrival into Fragile. Pretty much sticks to the episode, but next chapter will be slightly rewritten. So read, review, and enjoy.

I thank all of you for staying with me through all this craziness, angst, and sometimes fluff. 8D

EDIT: In response to an anonymous review whose name is not worth the time to recall, there is a reason things are written the way they are. For one, I explained already that I tried to stick close to the episode for this part so if you chose to read it and complain afterwards, then that's on you. Don't complain to me and if you don't like it, don't fucking review. For I use flames to warm my house at night.

For another, I took a vote with some of my close friends on DA, and the decision came down to Wasp not knowing that Bumblebee is carrying, and if you'd read the last chapter, you'd know why. I'm not going to waste anymore time than necessary explaining it. This is a rewrite and I'm sorry you don't like it, but that's your damn problem. If you can't leave something constructive without being a total ass, then don't bother because I'm not fazed by pissy little reviewers.

In short, KISS MY ASS. It's my story; I'll write it how I want it.

Thank you.

~Regretful

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_**12. Insanity**_

The steady pattering of rain drumming down on the warehouse was almost enough to put one into stasis, and Bumblebee might have considered resting there on the couch if not for the occasional clap of thunder that seemed accompany every lightning flash. Sighing, he leaned on the couch arm, game controller in one servo as he waited for the game to load. In his processor, he went over where everyone was at. Prowl and Bulkhead were out patrolling, despite the awful weather. Sari was at home, staying dry, and Jazz had gone to meet with Sentinel at the _Steelhaven_'s usual spot.

That left him, Prime, and Ratchet here at base though Optimus would be leaving soon to go join Prowl and Bulkhead. Ratchet was in his medbay, trying to find a way to counter the faulty signals the weather caused. The heavy pouring rain often interferred with their monitor and camera signals and caused several to show nothing but static for more than a megacycle. Truth be told, Bumblebee was supposed to be watching them, but he figured he wouldn't get in too much trouble for ignoring them, given his condition.

As if on cue, there was a rather persistent tug on his spark. One servo absently covering his chassis, Bumblebee sent out a calming pulse to his sparkling. The little one was usually quiet, tugging on his spark only when it wanted some attention from its creators. If Bumblebee was counting his days right, he was almost two weeks along, and he still had another two weeks of purging his tanks in the morning to go.

With a laugh, he remembered this morning, onlining quite suddenly with an overwhelming need to purge. Unfortunately, he normally recharged on the side of the berth closest to wall since Prowl usually got up before him. He had tried to scramble over the recharging Prowl with no luck and had ended up startling the older mech online. In the end, Bumblebee had been sprawled across Prowl's lap, the cyberninja holding him steady and rubbing his back while he purged his tanks over the side of the berth. They decided it would be best if they switched positions.

His game loaded, the yellow mech began mashing buttons to knock out his opponent out. He won three rounds and was just finishing a fourth when his line of sight was blocked by a blue aft and red backstrut.

"Hey!" Bumblebee shouted indignantly. Prime turned to give him a slightly disapproving frown.

"When I said 'watch the monitors', I didn't mean this one." Bumblebee crossed his arms and threw the monitors a sidelong glance, noticing one glitch with static for a nanosec or two before clearing up.

"Can't see a thing on 'em anyway." Prime cycled a sigh, pinching his nasal ridge.

"Bumblebee, I'm not going to get on to you too much, otherwise Prowl would have my aft, but you're the one who said you didn't want to be completely useless just because you're carrying. Monitor duty is the only task Ratchet will allow you to do." Bumblebee vented a hopeless sigh. Even though the young leader was right, monitor duty had never been the scout's favorite activity. Now that it was all he was limited to, it was even less appealing.

Seeing that younger mech still wasn't convinced, Prime tried something else, "It's either that or you can rest and recharge on your berth like Prowl wants you to." The yellow bot nearly bolted for the monitor console at Optimus's suggestion. Prowl had become quite the concerned mate, coming close to a spark attack if Bumblebee even so much as flinched in discomfort. The cyberninja was adamant that he stay in their berth as much as possible and get him anything he needed. While the idea of Prowl waiting on him hand and foot was touching in its own way, there was no way in Pit Bumblebee was going to let himself become invalid.

One of the monitors suddenly lit up red, Cybertronian glyphs flashing up the screen in an urgent manner. This caught the attention of both mechs who went to check it out. Optimus read the information carefully while Bumblebee shifted from pede to pede nervously, trying to keep from covering his chassis. He hated how anxious he was, but he was partly worried that the warning was for Wasp.

"Is it Decepticons?" He asked his leader, watching as Prime vented a frustrated sigh as the monitors glitched yet again.

"It's definitely Cybertronian, but the rain is disrupting the signal.I'm going to join Prowl and Bulkhead on patrol. Ratchet's in his medbay if you need him. Watch the monitors." That said, Optimus shifted to his vehicle mode and drove out into the pouring rain. Bumblebee sighed, looking at the monitors and watching as one glitched and cleared only for another to do the same. Smirking, he looked back over at his game.

"He didn't say which monitor." Eagerly, he returned to his game, starting another round that he knew he would win in a matter of minutes. If Optimus happened to come back and find him playing rather than doing his job, he could always use the excuse of it being a make-up for combat training since he could longer do that anymore either.

A little over a breem passed. In that time, the yellow scout had won at least five more matches, working on a sixth with an eagerness that only gamers knew of. The simulated punches of the virtual fighters and continuous clack of the controller buttons being pressed filled the room. _'Alright, a few more hits to go.'_ The determined thought fueled him onward, avoiding the blows the computerized opponent threw at him. The match was nearly over when a flash of lightning cut across the sky, the power to the warehouse shutting off as a powerline was struck. With the lights going down, Bumblebee was plunged into semi-darkness, his optics and what could be seen of the moon providing the only light.

Slightly panicked, Bumblebee shouted the first thing that came to mind, "I wasn't playing video games. I swear. Just turn the lights back on." As if it could hear, the back-up generator kicked on, the warehouse emergency lights bathing everything a blood-red hue. While the lights came on, a high-pitched whine filled his audios.

_"Buuuuuummmmbbllleee-boooooottt..."_ It was faint, an echo if nothing else, but he still heard it. He jumped to his pedes, one servo automatically covering his chassis as he looked frantically around for whoever had spoken.

"Who's there?" The slight screech to his tone proved how anxious Bumblebee was. He couldn't understand why Ratchet hadn't come to check on him yet what the power going down, but it wasn't his main concern right now. He didn't know what to expect so he merely began backing off from the TV towards the monitors. He contemplated running out into the rain just to get away from whatever had spoken.

Just as he was making up his mind, he turned around...Only to be met by a very familiar and dreaded faceplate as the lightning flashed yet again. He reeled back in surprise, "Wasp?" It took all he had not to cover his chassis lest he give away his secret to last mech he wanted to know about it, "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Oh, not much. Just seeking revenge on the bot who ruined Wasp's life!" A high-pitched shriek. Wasp's vocals had changed to match his insanity. During his speech, he'd moved towards Bumblebee who'd stepped back. He didn't want the maniac anywhere near him. Trying to control his growing fear, Bumblebee faked a laugh and held up his servos.

"Oh, about that," He waved one hand down and then both returned to his side. He was going to try and talk his way out of this. At least until Ratchet came out of his medbay and could help him, "Ha. Funny story. Turns out it was a big misunderstanding. Longarm set me up, er, set you up. Actually set us up," Both clenched servos came up to his chassis as he said the next sentence, not entirely able to fend off that instinct to protect his sparkling but made sure to make it seem as though he were still pleaing for mercy (and in a way, he was), "We're both just victims here, right?"

Wasp only stared at him, faceplates expressionless but violet optics shining with that same desire for revenge. There was no way Bumblebee was going to get out of this. He had to run and hope to Primus he managed to escape.

Turning on his heel, Bumblebee bolted, activating his comm. link for the first bot he could think of, the one he wished was here right now.

"Prowl, come in! I need help. Wasp is here in the plant," As he sent his distress call, the yellow mech tried to vault over the couch. A blast of electricity hit him square in the back, and he fell over the back of the stone funiture, turning to hit his shoulder against the concrete. His helm smacked against the floor, disrupting both his comm. link and equilibrium circuits, knocking him temporarily offline. He could still hear Wasp, the green mech's pede-falls heading his direction. When Bumblebee finally came online, his optics unshuttering, the insane bot was crouching over him, straddling his hip.

"Wasp and Bumble-bot a lot alike...but one innocent, the other guilty. Can Bumble-bot guess which?" Bumblebee could definitely guess where Wasp's raving was taking him, and he didn't like the implication he held for him. Hesitantly, he turned his faceplates to stare at the former Autobot.

"Neither...?" Bumblebee offered weakly, internally wincing as Wasp's accusing stare hardened.

"Wasp waste stellar cycles in stockades, lose all Wasp's friends, and never be an Elite guard!" He reached into his sub-space, pulling out a blaster of some sort and a container of neon green liquid, sending a wave of fear throughout Bumblebee's frame. He felt a pull on his spark, but he couldn't tell if it was the sparkling or Prowl trying to reach him over his own fear.

As Wasp resumed speaking, he was setting up the blaster for whatever its purpose was, "Bumble-bot know what it like to lose everything and have every bot turn on Bumble-bot?" Bumblebee could almost sympathize with the first part of the question, the loss of his first sparkling having felt like losing his own spark, but how could he tell Wasp that? He didn't want to endanger this one after all the hell he and Prowl had gone through.

Not waiting to see if Bumblebee would answer his question or not, Wasp reached up to his own helm, hooking his digits just underneath the edges and pulled it off, revealing his bare protoform cranium. Bumblebee couldn't help the horrified gasp, Wasp's plan dawning in his processor. The barrel of the gun was suddenly right in his vision.

"Bumble-bot will..." The gun fired and blackness descended on him.

_88888  
_

He was sluggish to come back online, not sure where he was, but the first thing he made sure to do was check on his sparkling. Bumblebee was relieved to find that it was alright. As his optics unshuttered part-way, providing him with a hazy vision of the bots standing around him, he heard Bulkhead speak up first.

"Is he alright?"

"Look. He's coming back online." That was Ratchet. Maybe the medic had come in before Wasp could do anything more than knock him out. The medbay was brightly lit, and he remembered that Ratchet ran it off a seperate generator from the warehouse's main power for just such occasions as a black out. Perhaps the noise had drawn him from his work or he'd come to check on him to find what was going on.

Suddenly, he heard his own voice and what must have been a clone enter his clearing vision, "Wasp put up fight, but Bumble-bot way tougher." Over his bond, he heard Prowl give him a warning about getting into fights while carrying, but he didn't blame him since Wasp had shown up when they least expected it. He sent a reassuring pulse without thinking about it.

'Wasp' sat up on the berth, holding his helm where it had met the concrete earlier. After allowing the minor ache to settle, he looked forward into his own face, seeing a reflection of himself in the battle-mask. Only it wasn't him. He looked like Wasp, his helm switched out for the maniac's own. Dumbfounded, he pointed at the now 'yellow' mech.

"That's not me!" Even his vocals sounded like Wasp's, but he didn't have the time to figure out how he'd managed that, "Wasp took my body. I'm really Bumblebee." Not a mech believed him. He could tell from their stares. He tried to reach out to Prowl through their bond, but the cyberninja's gaze flickered over to 'Bumblebee' with concern, but he didn't try to reach out for him. He was keeping to the original agreement not to let Wasp know about the sparkling.

"Same crazy Wasp, but he's way uglier than I remember," Bulkhead said, his servos coming up to restrain him.

"Wasp not that ugly." The mech now known as Bumblebee commented, sounding almost put out. Both Ratchet and Prowl turned to stare at him. For a moment, the real scout allowed himself to believe that they'd see right through the charade.

"Why does your voice sound like it's got a bug in it?"

"And why is your mask down?" _'Come on, Prowl. Look at the optics. That's not me.' _Bumblebee thought desperately, hoping to Primus they'd notice. Optimus and Bulkhead both threw the imation scout a dubious look, also wondering why he was keeping his face hidden. The yellow bot made a show of feeling his battle mask, as if he didn't know it had been activated, before trying to come up with an excuse, his servos resting on his helm.

"My mask is...jammed. Must be a computer glitch with...rain," It was a weak excuse, but before the others could commet on it, he was pointing at the mech on the berth, trying to direct the attention back to him, "Traitor! Throw him the stockade!"

"Hold your horsepower, Bumblebee. I thought he was innocent," Optimus stated, trying to figure why the youngest member of his team seemed to have forgotten that Longarm was the real traitor to the Autobot cause.

"Does he look innocent?" Bumblebee, the real Bumblebee, couldn't take it anymore.

"He's a fake!" He cried desperately, wanting nothing more than to rip that insane mech apart, "He switched our paintjobs! And helmets!" They all shook their helms. "And voice...synthesizers..." Another collective shake of nonbelief. Of course they wouldn't believe him. He looked like Wasp, sounded like Wasp, and at this point, was probably going to end up like Wasp, in the stockade. He shuddered at the thought of his sparkling being born in a place like that, far away from home and its father.

"Poor Wasp," The fake began again, "All those stellar cycles in the stockade must have scrambled his circuits. He's clearly a danger to himself and all those around him." The gathered bots all exchanged looks, and Bumblebee was losing hope. Why couldn't they see through the illusion? He would never talk like that. What was going to happen now? What could he do to get out of it?

Siding with the fake scout, Ratchet held up a pair of stassis cuffs, ready to throw him in their makeshift prison until the Elite Guard showed up. Panicking in Bulkhead's grip, Bumblebee thrashed around, shouting at his team-mates that he was who he said was, unconsciously activating his stinger and firing. The cuffs in Ratchet's servo fell apart as the electric blast hit them. He then went for the lights plunging them into darkness and finally breaking free of Bulkhead's grip.

The next thing he knew he was racing out of the base, taking a sharp left out the main entrance and disappearing into Detriot. He wasn't sure how he was going to prove that he was Bumblebee, but it wasn't his main concern right now. He had to find somewhere to hide, to keep the sparkling safe until he could manage to get out of this mess Wasp had thrown him into and hoped that it wouldn't take too long. Until then, he could only run.


	12. Insanity Pt 2

A/N: This is chapter may not make much sense (Primus knows at some points I felt confused. Until I rewrote that is). But the original plot for this chapter got lost and I was forced to improvise. So...yeah. Getting rewrote as soon as I can. Gotta work on an art-trade now. Bye!

R&R please! Flames will be laughed at. XD

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_**12. Insanity**_

"Slag! The little scrapheap got away!" Ratchet cursed as the five mechs made their way into the main room, still lit by the crimson red emergency lights. His medbay was still in the dark, the lights shot out by the green mech's stingers. Optimus vented a frustrated sigh.

"We'll have to go out and look for him. Bulkhead, Prowl, Ratchet, and I will go. Bumblebee, you stay here." The yellow bot looked ready to protest until Ratchet put a servo on his shoulder to grab his attention.

"Prime, you and Bulkhead go ahead. I'm gonna scan him to make sure the little one is okay," As Ratchet dug around his sub-space for his scanner, 'Bumblebee' was confused but trying not to show it. _'Little one? What little one?'_ He felt another servo on his shoulder and turned to see the tall, black ninjabot smiling at him in an almost reassuring manner. Why did he care? He gave a small nod to keep up with his illusion and turned back to watch the medic. He was completely unaware that the black mech was trying to reach out to who he thought he was.

Prowl was highly confused as to why his bondmate didn't seem to be reacting to him. At least, not in a visible way. He could still sense the smaller mech's spark though it seemed to be a lot farther away than where he was standing. He could also sense the fear and confusion racing through him, and it concerned him. Wasp hadn't hurt him right? He wasn't here in the base. With any luck, he'd be found before anything else happened. Showing once again what a concerned father he was, Prowl also reached out to comfort his sparkling who was giving off pulses of confusion and fright. It seemed to calm it.

He hadn't noticed Ratchet finish his scan (he hadn't even seen him pull the device out) or the look of horror that played across his features. Gently, he led Prowl away from the short mech and spoke in a hushed voice, "Prowl, bad news. I can't get a reading from the sparkling, only Bumblebee." Behind his visor, Prowl's optics widened, and he looked over at said mech. 'Bumblebee' had his helm tilted to the side, puzzled, trying to listen in on their conversation. Then he snuck a glance at Ratchet's scanner and the displayed results.

While it could be used for a near infinite amount of purposes, it had only been programmed to scan for his sparkling's spark just now, nothing else. Before Ratchet had dragged him away, Prowl had just been offering comfort to his child.

_'That's not Bumblebee,'_ Realizaton hit him immediately, making him sick to his tanks to know what a mistake he'd made, _'That's Wasp. Bumblebee is out there running for his life. I have to find him.'_

Without a word to Ratchet, Prowl turned on his heel and ran for the exit, shifting to his alt. mode. His tires screeched against the concrete as he tore out of the base, past Optimus, Bulkhead, Sentinel, and Jazz, not caring at all for the arguement he'd just interrupted. The black and gold motorcycle was gone in a matter of astroseconds. The remaining four turned to look at Ratchet who wandering out of the base looking all at once confused, sympathetic, and murderous.

"What's that glitch's problem?" Sentinel blurted before turning on his heel and walking off, "Ya know what? Forget it. I have a fugitive to find." Once the blue mech was out of sight, Ratchet fixed them all a dark stare. Optimus felt a shudder run through his frame at the look in the old medic's optics.

"What's going on, Ratchet?"

"Yeah, what's got Prowler's circuits in a bunch?" The red and white vented a sigh, looking back over his shoulder into the warehouse. 'Bumblebee' was sitting on the couch, his helm bowed. To anyone else, it looked like he was upset, mourning.

"He may be innocent of being a traitor, but Wasp is going down for murder if it's the last thing I do." There was a collective gasp of horror from the others.

"You don't mean-" Bulkhead started but was interrupted by Ratchet.

"Whatever Wasp did to Bumblebee while he was here, it killed the sparkling."

_888888_

After nearly half an hour of driving without an idea as to where he was going, Bumblebee finally stopped, transforming, and stumbled into a nearby alleyway. He might've gone further if not for the fact he was low on energy and already his systems were protesting. He was tired, a little dizzy, and his tanks were churning horribly. Leaning against the wall, he cycled short bursts of air to try and keep from purging, but the drain on his systems -made worse by the stingers that had been added back into his arm guards somehow- combined with the awful stench the stale water and decomping garbage was giving off, proved to be too much.

While he purged what little was left in his tanks, Bumblebee mulled over the current situation in his processor. Wasp had somehow managed to escape the stockade and make his way to Earth. The insane bot had switched places with him to try and get Bumblebee sent back in his place. To top it all off, none of his teammates, not even his bondmate, believed him to be who he really was. Of course, given the way he tried to tell them, he realized he did come across as insane. Once he got out of this, he was going to have to learn how to plan better.

Too exhausted at the moment to go any farther, Bumblebee moved just far enough down the alleyway to avoid sitting in or near the puddle of partially processed fuel, and slid down to the ground. He couldn't help but feel like an idiot for acting the way he did, making himself seem all the more crazy, and putting his sparkling in danger. If Wasp hadn't been right there disguised as him, Bumblebee could've at least had Ratchet perform a full scan to make sure all his systems were fine and that the sparkling was alright. Maybe if he could catch one of the others alone, that's how he would prove himself.

For now, he would give his systems a chance to rest and calm the smaller spark sharing his chamber.

_888888_

_Why Bumblebot not say anything about sparkling?_

That question had been plaguing Wasp since the team left to look for the so-called fugitive, leaving him here at base. Everything was piecing itself together in his meta. Why Bumblebot had tried to run, why he hadn't tried to fight, why that ninjabot had seemed so concerned. They were bondmates and were expecting. Bumblebot was carrying. The only thing he couldn't figure out was why he hadn't said a word about it.

_Wasp not harm sparkling. Wasp not evil. Would never hurt sparkling._

He held his helm, borrowed helm, and tried to come up with explaination. Why? Why wouldn't he say anything? Why did he not try to do more to protect it? Vaguely, he recalled hearing the mechs outside talking. He remembered that medic saying he was going down for murder, had accused Wasp of killing a sparkling, an unborn sparkling nonetheless. He also remembered that white mech, that Elite Guard, saying something about dismantling him, and Bulkhead declaring quite loudly that he was going to crush him.

Wasp couldn't understand it. He hadn't even known about the sparkling. How could they blame him? He didn't even know if it had been terminated or not, and if it had, he knew it wouldn't look good for him.

In his adled processor, Wasp could reach only one conclusion as to why he wasn't told. Bumblebot had ruined his life, labeling him a traitor to the Autobot cause and getting him sent to the stockade; why not ruin it some more? Accused of murder, Wasp could go to trial, and even he knew he wasn't completely sound in processor. He would be sentenced to deactivation. Bumblebot was trying to frame him. Letting out an enraged yell, Wasp grabbed the game controller and hurled it, accidently sending it through one of the monitors. If Bumblebot managed to get back to base, Wasp would make sure he paid for his crimes.

_888888_

Engines. Jet engines. Bumblebee cracked open his tired optics, trying to pinpoint the sound. _'Oh, great. Decepticons.'_ Hauling himself to his pedes, he looked around for a quick hiding spot. He saw the gray metal door that was the entrance to a storage area. Without pausing to check if he was being watched, Bumblebee slid it up, and slipped inside, closing the door. Pressing his back against the wall by the door, he listened as the roaring of the jet engines got closer and closer. Then transformation sequences engaging, pede falls as the mechs landed. He heard them looking around before they began speaking.

"That is strange." What a weird accent.

"I could swear traitor was here. Look, he purged right there." Bumblebee cursed himself. He'd forgotten about that. He prayed to Primus whoever it was didn't search the storage building.

"Brother, let us look somewhere else for two-timer." To his relief, the next sounds he heard were those of the two transforming and taking off into the sky. He'd never heard of Decepticons with such strange vocals. He could only assume Megatron had gotten some new recruits. That wasn't good news for him. At least they had presumed he'd gone elsewhere rather than staying in the alley.

Venting a relieved sigh, Bumblebee opened the door and peeked out. Only to be grabbed by a pair of strong servos, keeping a tight hold on his shoulders. He panicked, thrashing and flailing out to try to escape.

"Let me go, Decepticreep!" He still hated how Wasp's vocals sounded. It was annoying. Before he could figure out who had a hold of him, he was turned around, catching a brief glimpse of black and gold before a pair of lips captured his. The kiss was made awkward by the strange chinguard on Wasp's helm, but it wasn't unwelcome. The mech drew away a moment later, blue visor shining with relief.

"And why would I want to let you go?"

"Thank Primus, it's you," Prowl smiled at the little mech, still holding onto him, "But I swear, if you kiss me again while I still look like this, you're not getting any for a week." The cyberninja couldn't help but chuckle.

"Oh, I don't think you'd keep that promise."

"Watch me," Bumblebee huffed, that teasing glint in his optics. Prowl sighed and held him close, happy that he was alright. He had manage to track Bumblebee's signal to the alleyway but had been forced to hide when the jet engines sounded overhead. He'd seen the two flying mechs, Decepticons he assumed, and had waited until they left so he could search the area. He had only searched for two kliks when the door slid up, and the green mech had stepped out, "How did you know it was me anyway?"

Prowl looked down at his bondmate, a little disturbed by the strange pitch in his vocals. He could honestly say he missed Bumblebee's voice; at least it sounded normal. But how could he tell him that Wasp had the rest of the team, minus Sentinel, believing that their second sparkling was terminated? Prowl had not taken the time to explain to them that the 'Bumblebee' at base was in fact Wasp. His main concern had been to find his mate before something happened to him. Now that he knew Bumblebee was alright, he began to think it might've been better to inform them.

Sighing, Prowl drew him close, "Ratchet scanned Wasp to check on the sparkling. When he didn't find it, he told me. I don't know if you sensed it or not, but I had just been comforting it when he told me," He looked down into the questioning blue optics, vaguely recalling that the mech's optics back at base was a shining violet. He felt like such an idiot for missing such an obvious detail, "Unfortunately, as far as the others know, Wasp killed the sparkling. I left to find you before I could tell them."

Stunned silence followed Prowl's confession. Bumblebee was shocked beyond words. Wasp...Wasp was making them all think that their sparkling, the one they had tried so hard for, was dead. He could only imagine how fragged off the others were right now. If they ran across him while he still looked like Wasp, Bumblebee doubted he'd get away unscathed.

"Bee, we need to get back to the warehouse before the others find us." Bumblebee nodded, his optics narrowed.

"Sure. I wanna see you kick that fragger's aft." With a small laugh, Prowl nodded, transforming. The smaller mech followed his example and together they left the alleyway, following a known route back to base. If they'd paid more attention, they would've noticed the two pairs of optics watching them though unable to hear from their distance.

"Sentinel Prime, sir. We have found traitor, and cycle-motor has cross-doubled us. We be following them now."

_888888_

"So you're all traitors!" Sentinel accused, running beside the others tearing down the road. Had Optimus been in bipedal mode, he would have given his least favorite bot a glare. Ratchet and Bulkhead traveled on one side of him, Jazz on the other. The white cyberninja was bound and determined to find Wasp after learning of the newspark's fate. _'And they went through so much just to get it. I'll dismantle that walking scrapheap myself!'_ Optimus was tempted to follow along with Jazz's threat, but they needed to bring in the green bot alive and try to prove that he wasn't the Autobot traitor everyone was looking for.

"Look, Sentinel. Cycle-mo...I mean Prowl is not a traitor, and Wasp isn't a traitor either."

"Then why are you so determined to find him if he's not a traitor? You're all acting like he's committed some crime against you."

"Not us." Jazz muttered, too low for Sentinel to hear. A little louder he replied, "SP, even if he's not a traitor, he still needs to be brought back for psychiatric help. That bot's crazy."

_**:Sentinel Prime, sir! Traitor Wasp and Cycle-motor are heading for a warehouse:**_ Jetfire's voice cried over the blue Prime's comm. link. The discovery of the two flying Autobots had been a shock to the Earthbound repair crew, but as long as they helped to find Wasp, they didn't really care what they could do. Optimus was questioning Prowl's sanity in his processor, though. Bumblebee was alone at base. What was he thinking bringing that...that sparkling killer back there? Was he planning to offline him? Or let Bumblebee do it? They needed to get back before something happened they'd all regret later.

"Autobots, back to base!" Four vehicles slid around the next corner, just barely managing to avoid skidding out of control. Behind them, Sentinel was still running on his own pedes, not accustomed to driving on wet asphalt.

_888888_

When the sound of screeching tires reached his audios, Wasp immediately jumped to his pedes. Sometime during the wait for the team to get back, the lights had finally begun working again, and he could see just how badly he'd damaged the monitor earlier. He figured if nothing else, he could at least say he'd been upset by the sparkling's supposed death. It might get him out of it. Wasp turned to face the mechs coming in through the entrance.

However, the minute he did so, he was tackled to the ground in a blur of black and gold. As he hit the ground, a heavy pede landed square in the middle of his optics glared up at his attacker, and behind his mask, his mouth fell open in surprise. It was that ninjabot, Prowl, his visor narrowed, one shuriken held in right servo. Behind him, Bumblebee stood with his arms crossed, optics narrowed to slits at the pinned mech.

His plan had been ruined. That ninjabot knew he wasn't Bumblebee. He needed to get away.

Trying to squirm out from the pede pinning him, Wasp wasn't prepared for the sudden increase in pressure as Prowl leaned down and grabbed him by his collar faring, lifting him off the ground and just high enough that his pedes couldn't touch the floor. He tried, unsuccessfully, to kick the mech holding him. A rough shake by the ninjabot stopped him, the sudden action jarring his circuits.

"You are going to switch back with Bumblebee. NOW," There was the distinctive sound of a blade-three blades to be exact-slicing the air as the shuriken was activated and brought into Wasp's line of view, dangerously close to his optics. Prowl continued, his tone dark and threatening, "And then I'm going to show you how much better off you would have been staying in the stockade."

"NO! Wasp don't belong in stockade! Bumblebot ruin Wasp's life! Make Bumblebot pay!" His struggles renewed, Wasp thrashed and flailed his legs out, hoping to hit something. Unable to reach far enough to kick the taller mech, Wasp changed his servo to one of his stingers, one of Bumblebee's. When he'd changed places with the yellow bot, he'd discovered that his stingers were missing for some reason he didn't know. Too determined to make sure his plan went off without a problem, he'd taken his own stinger mods and placed them in the mech's empty arm guards. After Ratchet had left, he'd found Bumblebee's stingers stored away in the medbay.

Wasp shot a blast of electricity into Prowl's side. Searing pain ran through Prowl's circuits causing him to drop his captive. Wasp landed with a clang on his aft, scrambling to pedes the next second. Just as the shock was wearing out of his systems, Prowl heard Bumblebee cry out as what sounded like a short sturggle came to a stop. He turned, alarmed, to find Wasp had his stinger activated and held against Bumblebee's throat.

"Don't you dare-!"

"Bumblebee!" The three mechs turned in unison to face the entrance. Four vehicles came barreling in, immediately shifting to their route modes as they skidded to abrupt halt. Optimus was the one who had spoken. Now, the red and blue had his axe drawn just in case. Ratchet and Bulkhead stood to either side of him, the green giant eager to help to his little buddy but hesitant for fear of getting him harmed. Jazz had his servo hovering over the nunchucks attached to his leg. All were ready to attack.

Unsure of their target, Prowl went to leap between the two groups, to shield Bumblebee from any kind of attack from his comrades, when the disguised bot began his insane ravings once again, "No! Wasp not going back to stockade." His grip on the green mech that the rest of the bots present knew now to be Bumblebee strengthened, the glowing tip of his stinger lightly touching his neck. He tensed up again, taking a step back as Sentinel and the two twins entered onto the scene. They'd heard him.

"You're a traitor, Wasp. You're going back." Sentinel managed to bark with his vents heaving. A pair of stasis cuffs were held in one hand. Optimus rolled his optics at him for what felt like the thousandth time.

"How many times do I have to tell you? He's not the traitor; Longarm is!"

"That's preposterous! How can Longarm be the traitor? If Wasp was innocent, he wouldn't have had that communicator."

"I'm telling you what Bumblebee told me. They were set up-"

"Silence!" Wasp felt like his processor was about to split. One side was accusing him of being a traitor; the other was trying to prove that he wasn't. He was confused. Confusion gave him processor aches. He couldn't stay here much longer. He was outnumbered, four of the eight mechs surrounding him Elite Guard agents, all looking to take him in for a crime he didn't commit. With a low growl, he reminded himself that he wouldn't even be in this situation in the first place if it weren't for Bumblebot. Now, he had to use him to escape, "Make one move, and Bumblebot slag."

His stinger left Bumblebee's neck and instead he shot out the lights for the warehouse, once again blanketing the room in black.

"For spark's sake, not again," Ratchet grumbled just before the emergency lights whirred to life. Bumblebee and Wasp were gone. Desperate, Prowl headed for the exit to see if he could catch up to them. Optimus turned to Sentinel.

"Still not convinced?" He didn't bother to wait for a reply. Even if Sentinel wasn't convinced, they still had the transmission vid from Longarm's communication with Megatron. They got to entrance in time to see Prowl pulling a yellow mech to his pedes. Bulkhead rushed past the others, making a beeline for two.

"Prowl, get away from Wasp!" Startled, both mechs jumped, Prowl recovering a moment later and stepping in front of the shorter bot.

"Wait, Bulkhead, stop! It's Bumblebee," Prowl braced himself, hoping Bulkhead managed to stop. The large green mech had a difficult time coming to a full stop but managed to halt just short of falling over on the cyberninja. He looked behind him to see Bumblebee hiding just behind him as if he expected to still be attacked.

"Wait, how do you know?"

"Uh...Because I don't sound like Wasp anymore?" Bumblebee offered weakly, his voice back to it's normal tone. He still had Wasp's helm, but he had a spare stashed away in his room.

"But your paintjob.." Prowl reached over and pulled off the strange shaped helm, reaching in just behind the chinguard and pressing a hidden button. Immediately, Bumblebee's colors shifted from yellow to green, changing back only after Prowl pressed the button again.

"Electronic. I noticed this when I pulled him up." The others joined them, Jazz, Sentinel, and the twins. Jazz hadn't been convinced at first that Wasp wasn't the real traitor, but he'd also been caught up with trying to keep his work from Cybertron caught up while staying on Earth. He'd been talking with Optimus during the search, mostly about tearing Wasp apart, but the red Prime had also given sound reasons, and he knew that they had proof. He just hadn't seen it yet.

"So if Longarm is the spy, then Head of Cybertron Intel-"

"Is a Decepticon double agent. Like we've been trying to tell him." Optimus gestured to Sentinel. The blue Prime looked a little flustered, but he recovered quick.

"Why didn't you just tell us that in the first place?" Optimus shook his helm in exsasperation. There was no hope for this bot, "Regardless, Wasp still needs to be found. Jetfire, Jetstorm! Get going!" The two stood at attention, saluting.

"Yes, sir!" Changing to their jet modes, they took off into the air, astounding Bumblebee. _'So they're the ones who were looking for me.' _A moment later, Sentinel and Jazz changed to their alt forms and raced off down the street. Once the five were alone, Ratchet stepped over to Bumblebee, scanner in hand.

"I'm going to assume you need a scan," The medic annouced, activating the small device and relieved to find the sparkling was alright despite the circumstances. Stowing away the device, he placed a hand on the scout's shoulder, "At least the sparkling is still there."

"Yeah. We're glad you're both okay, little buddy." Bulkhead said as cheerily as possible. Bumblebee looked at them all, seeing the relief in their optics. Truth be told, he was glad, too, that Wasp's disguise had been seen through, that he was home safe and his sparkling was alright. He was glad that they knew it was really him. Yet he couldn't suppress the bubbling anger that they hadn't even believed him in the first place. Especially Prowl who should've been able to tell more than any of them that it was him. He'd been sitting on that feeling since leaving the warehouse but other concerns kept him focusing on it. Now that everything was over, there was nothing to distract him.

Bumblebee snapped.

"_Okay? _I could've been turned to scrap metal by that maniac! I could've gotten attacked out there," Optics blazing, narrowed at his team, he found he couldn't stop with his rant, the others having taken a step back in shock. Something had snapped, giving him an overwhelming need to vent his anger, "I told you it was me, and none of you believed me! His optics were wrong the wrong color, and why would I ever talk like that! How blind are you!" Ratchet had already recognized the outburst for what it was and begun to tune out some of what was being said. He just hoped none of the others were stupid enough to interrupt him.

Unfortunately, Prowl just happened to be that stupid, "Bumblebee, don't you think that's a little harsh?" The yellow mech turned on him, snarling.

"Don't you give me that! You of all mechs should have known it was me to begin with! I don't care if you are the one who found me, you're recharging on the couch tonight! " Through with his rant, Bumblebee stormed past them into the warehouse, likely to get his spare helm before heading to his and Prowl's room and locking them all out. Stunned, Prowl turned to Ratchet.

"What the frag was that?" The medic laughed at the motorcyle's bewildered expression. He could tell that he hadn't read the data-pad that the ambulance had given him nearly three months ago. What they had just experienced had been a minor glitch in Bumblebee's personality programming, acting much in the same way as human female hormones. In other words, a mood swing, the first of many to come. Ratchet could only think of one other way to put it to the soon-to-be father.

"That, Prowl, was your first step into hell."


	13. Mischief Managed

A/N: You can all thank DreamStoryWeaver and aerinsol on DA for most of the ideas in this chapter. Maybe not one of my best chapters, considering how broken up it ended up being, but I like it. More thanks to everyone reading this crazy story. Read and review please as I love to hear from you guys.

WARNINGS: intense mechsmex, bondage, oral, sticky. (Yeah, warnings required. Don't like? Back button's right up there. *points to the left hand corner of the screen*)

Enjoy!

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_**72. Mischief Managed**_

To say Prowl was pissed off was an understatement.

Only a few days had passed since Wasp had arrived on Earth and switched places with Bumblebee, trying to get the yellow mech thrown into the stockade instead of himself. With a infruiated snarl, he remembered how Wasp had tricked the others into believing that their second sparkling had been killed. With shame, he remembered how he'd actually believed that the insane escapee had been Bumblebee.

Something he did end up paying for afterwards by being forced to recharge on the couch. He hadn't thought Bumblebee would actually keep the threat, but he'd been proven wrong when he discovered his door locked. Prowl had spent the majority of that night cursing Wasp's arrival while trying to get comfortable on the concrete.

The insane mech had disappeared after his secret had been revealed, and it took all Prowl had not to embrace the yellow scout and hold him close after it was all over though he'd barely had any time to do or say anything when the little mech had chewed everyone out. Even though the Elite guard had brought Bumblebee's brothers to Earth to help him, Sentinel was not privy to the information as to why.

Not that he would've listened anyway and not like they would've told him. Sentinel had a problem with sparklings and would've likely given them more hell than they cared to deal with. As far as he knew (and would ever know), they were berth partners and nothing more.

So for now, the group was hiding the fact that two of its own were bonded and expecting a sparkling. A fact Prowl wasn't happy with as it was already causing problems, some of which the expecting mech didn't need. For one, they had to go back to recharging in their respective rooms, and neither mech could recharge very well now without the familiar presence of their mate. Their bond could only do so much to relieve that problem. For another, Sentinel was insisting that Bumblebee do patrols even though Ratchet told him the yellow mech had a medic's order not to do so. They were working around this by allowing Prowl to accompany him and hide him while the cyberninja did the patrol himself, picking Bumblebee up on the way back to base.

However, Prowl's main problem with this arrangement was the two flying Autobots, Jetfire and Jetstorm. Several times during the day, he would catch the two staring at his mate in ways only he was allowed to, and it always sent the energon running through his lines boiling with rage. He desperately wished he could prove to those two that only he could look at Bumblebee that way, but he didn't want to cause any problems that he would regret later. Bumblebee liked to hang around with them and play games, and Prowl himself did not want another verbal lashing from his mate so for now he let him do as he pleased and tried not to lodge his shuriken in the Twins' afts.

And after the incident the other day with Sentinel, the two acted as though they had no intentions of ever leaving Bumblebee's side. He didn't know what exactly had been said at first. Prowl had left the room before the arguement began, but he'd been filled in later by Jazz and had been less than pleased. Sentinel had come into the main room with Optimus on his heels and ordered the scout to do yet another patrol. The rest of the conversation had been a real train wreck.

_88888_

"Hey, you little bumbler! You're supposed to be out patrolling." Sentinel yelled, striding over to the couch to tower over the smaller mech who shifted his gaze back towards the door that Prowl had disappeared through, "And you go without that washed-up ninjabot for once." At Sentinel's insult, Bumblebee's optics flashed in anger as he stood up, though he managed to suppress a snarl. Knowing what was coming, Optimus took a couple of steps back with a near invisible smirk of amusement.

"He is not washed-up! He just needs to finish his training."

"Oh, so he's a drop-out who couldn't make the cut? Sounds like a failure to me." Optimus's smirk disappeared. It'd barely begun and already Sentinel had crossed a line. He stepped over, optics narrowed into a disapproving glare.

"Alright, Sentinel. That's enough. I don't care how high ranked you are, you can't talk about my team like that." Sentinel rolled his optics, crossing his arms over his chassis. Jazz sighed, already expecting a long arguement.

"Your team is made up of a bunch of losers, Optimus. A has-been medic that needs to retire, a would-be cyberninja, and two of the most worthless bots to come through boot camp," Sentinel swung his arm out, pointing at Bulkhead sitting in the corner. He'd been working on a painting, trying to ignore the untrue rant, "At least the big one can actually do something in battle," Sentinel didn't acknowledge when Prowl and Ratchet had come into the room, drawn by the shouting and were curious as to what had set off Sentinel this time. When Sentinel suddenly pointed at Bumblebee while addressing Optimus, Prowl groaned, "The only thing this bot's useful for is bait for Decepticons."

Prowl didn't think he'd ever wanted to offline someone as much as he wanted to deactivate Sentinel at that moment. Sentinel had no clue that Bumblebee was serving a bigger role than all of them. Just as he was about to jump into the arguement and defend his bondmate, however, Bumblebee beat them all to it.

"You arrogant, pompous, pathetic excuse for a leader!"

All optics whirled to face the enraged scout including Sentinel whose mouth had fallen open in shock. Even the Twins who come to ask Jazz a question, coming in after Sentinel's comment, were bewildered by the outburst. Bumblebee paid none of them any notice and continued to lay into the blue Prime, "How can you claim to be better than us after the many times we've saved your aft! If your helm wasn't stuck up your exhaust, you might be a better leader. Don't you dare insult my teammates or me again, you...you..." Bumblebee didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before he had to force himself to not to break down in front of the Prime.

Sentinel's presence in the base was already stressful enough for him, and his comment about the scout being worthless stung more than Bumblebee would ever admit. Especially since he really couldn't do anything now.

Pivoting on his heel, Bumblebee had rushed from the room, down the hall to his room while a few quiet clicks managed to slip from his vocals. Once he was gone, five pairs of optics trained on Sentinel, narrowed into glares that could melt armour. Jetfire and Jetstorm both turned to the other and shrugged, unsure what had just happened. Bumblebee had not seemed like the type to randomly yell at others. After a few moments, Sentinel recovered from his shock and looked at Ratchet.

"What's his malfunction?" Ratchet had looked at him, having a rather hard time suppressing the grin his mouth wanted to from. Secretly, he'd enjoyed watching Sentinel live through one of Bumblebee's mood swings. The small mech had always had a bit of temper, and the glitches always made it worse before the beetle's mood would change abruptly, either to suddenly happy or depressed. Ratchet didn't have to give Sentinel the entire truth; just enough to get Bumblebee out of trouble.

"There's been a problem with his personality programming lately, and I've been trying to repair it. I told you he was on a medic's order not to leave base."

"Well, get it fixed soon. If he talks to me like that again, I'll have him court-martialed."

_88888_

Prowl cycled a sigh, rubbing his temple. It had taken him quite awhile to calm Bumblebee down after that, but he hadn't been the only one seeking to comfort him. Since then, the Twins hardly left his side, always wanting to play games and asking for help to 'make him feel useful' since he was actually allowed to stay at base now. Currently, the trio were sitting on the couch, huddled together as they played games. Much to Prowl's disdain, Bumblebee was sandwiched between the two jets. A queit growl of irritation sounded from his vocals as one of them, Jetfire, brushed up against the yellow mech, disguising it as a friendly shove.

"Jetfire, that's cheating!" Bumblebee whined, smirking.

"Bumblebee, I am not understanding this game. Please to show me how these controls work again?" Jetstorm asked, sounding genuinely confused. Prowl easily detected the feigned innocence, gritting his denta. These two were asking for it. Bumblebee gave the blue mech a strange look then laughed, leaning over to point out the controls.

"Alright, one more time. You press this to move forward, and if you really wanna go fast, you hold that and press this. Then-"As Bumblebee continued on with explaination to Jetstorm, Jetfire's gaze traveled up and down the yellow back, lingering just a nanosec too long on Bee's aft. Visor flashing with rage, Prowl's servo clenched hard enough to score a long gash across his palm. Noticing the energon leaking between Prowl's digits, Jazz went over to the couch, intent on keeping the Twins alive.

"Yo, Jetfire. Jetstorm. Sentinel wants you two to do an aerial sweep of the city to look for Wasp. Play games later," Both mechs gave their superior a disappointed frown but stood and saluted him nonetheless, heading for the exit. Confused, Bumblebee turned to Jazz to ask what had prompted the sudden order when he noticed Prowl practically storming out of the room down the hall, energon seeping between his fingers. Jazz gave Bee a pat on the shoulder and turned to go watch the monitors so he wouldn't have to face any awkward questions. The last thing he wanted to do was tell the yellow mech Prowl was probably planning the Twins' deaths for getting too close.

Curious, Bumblebee got up off the couch and followed the energon trail to the medbay. The doors were shut tight. Pressing his audio receptor to the door, he listened carefully. From inside, he could hear Prowl arguing with Ratchet over the sound of an arc welder.

"I can't take this anymore! I swear, one more look, and I'll dismantle them both!"

"Yeah, and you'd have Sentinel on your aft over why you're so eager to kill two of his best agents. Now, hold still before this burns ya."

Bumblebee tilted his helm slightly, one optic ridge raised. Who were they talking about and what were they doing?

"I couldn't care what that aft of a mech thinks. He's _my_ mate, and I don't like those flying idiots hanging around him."

"Just because you're jealous-"

"I'm NOT jealous! Ow!"

"Told ya to hold still."

Bumblebee pulled back from the door, smirking. Prowl was jealous of Jetfire and Jetstorm? He couldn't help but find it cute. He wasn't stupid or blind. Bumblebee had noticed the looks he got from the Twins and of course the tone in their voices and shine in their optics whenever they talked to him. He knew that they were flirting with him, and he tried to be nice to them without making it seem like he was flirting back. He was bonded with a sparkling on the way after all. Flirting with other mechs wouldn't look too good on him to those who knew he was carrying.

Then Bumblebee remembered the last time Prowl had gotten jealous. It had been when Blurr was here for that short period of time. They had gotten to know each other regardless and had some fun racing each other to see who was best. He still wondered what happened to the blue racer and hoped he was alright. They hadn't been bonded yet but even then, Prowl was a little possessive. Shudders traveled down his backstrut when he thought of the facing he'd gotten from the cyberninja after Blurr had disappeared, the dark mech authoritively telling Bumblebee that he belonged to no one else but him.

It was the first time Prowl had actually gotten rough with him without the scout having to ask, and he'd thoroughly enjoyed it even though his valve had been awfully tender for a few days afterwards. It had been so different to what he was used to from his mate. In the back of his processor, Prowl always held a fear that he could somehow hurt his smaller bondmate when they were interfacing, keeping to the gentle ease as their first time together unless Bee asked different. He wouldn't mind at all if Prowl decided to do so on his own.

Bumblebee's optics flashed as a devious idea formed in his processor. What harm could a little flirting do?

_88888_

The next time Jazz found himself keeping an eye out for the Twins (or rather one of them) was a few days later. Jetstorm was with Sentinel out in the city looking for Wasp once more, leaving Jetfire at base with the free time to play games. Bumblebee was, of course, right beside him on the couch with the other controller, mashing away on the buttons. Prowl was nearby, doing some kind of training on the assembly line, ducking, jumping, and avoiding the metal arms. Every once in awhile, he would throw a glare Jetfire's way but otherwise said nothing.

Jazz himself was standing behind Ratchet as the old medic went over the monitors, repairing glitches and broken circuitry. He shook his helm as Jetfire once again spared a covert look at Bumblebee before turning back to the game. It was another look that did not go unnoticed, Prowl nearly getting whacked by one of the metal arms by the distraction.

Sighing, the Elite Guard turned to the red and white mech, "This is crazy. I'm gonna lose my processor trying to keep the Twins alive," He crossed his arms over his chassis, leaning against the console, "Who would've thought ol' Prowler to be the jealous type?" Ratchet chuckled quietly, shrugging.

"Well, I thought he looked rather off when Blurr was here, but I didn't know he and Bumblebee were actually together until...well, you know."

"Yeah, I know. Still, if Sentinel didn't have such a problem with sparklings, it'd make my job a lot easier. At least we could tell the Twins to back off." Ratchet laughed again, this time looking over his shoulder at Jazz, "What?"

"Come on, Jazz. How often does Prowl ever show what he's really feeling? Aren't you the least bit curious?" The white and black tilted his helm in thought. A chance to see Prowl acting out of his usual character? It was tempting, but the risk to the Twins was a little high. He was about to tell this to the medic, but Jetfire and Bumblebee's cheering interrupted him. They'd won their game.

"You are very good gamer, Bumblebee," Jetfire joyously proclaimed, amber optics shining. There was another glare sent towards the orange mech just as Prowl was beginning another run on the line. Bumblebee smiled back at him.

"You're getting to be one, too, Jetfire," Jazz thought that's as far as it would go until Bumblebee gave the orange twin a quick hug while saying, "Thanks for playing with me." While Jetfire's faceplates heated to a dull red, the room filled with a loud _clang_ as Prowl was stuck by one of the line's assembly arms, the metal appendage knocking him to the floor.

"Nrgh, frag it," The black mech growled as he picked himself up off the floor. He was getting looks from every bot in the room. The first to speak was none other than Bumblebee, his tone genuinely concerned. He hadn't meant for Prowl to get hit; he didn't even realize he'd started another run.

"You alright, Prowl?" Said mech looked at his bondmate, noting that he no longer had his arms wrapped around Jetfire whose faceplates were still flushed. Trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible, Prowl muttered "I'm fine" as he strode from the room, that same jealous glint in his visor when he just barely glanced at Jetfire. Unnoticed by the others, Bumblebee smirked to himself.

Jazz shook his helm, unable to keep the grin from his faceplates. He turned to Ratchet who also had an amused smirk adorning his face.

"Alright, I'm in."

_88888_

The next few days after that were tense to say the least. Wasp still hadn't been found, and Sentinel was getting more and more irritable while Bumblebee's mood swings seemed to come at weird and random times. Jazz remembered the morning he and Prowl had walked into the main room to find the little mech curled into himself, sobbing for some reason or another. Through his cries, he managed to tell them that he'd just come into the room after waking up to purge and was about to put in a movie when it had hit. With everyone else still in recharge, it had given Prowl some time to sit with his bondmate and hold him until the crying fit passed.

The white ninja figured that the stress was probably getting to the little mech, and with him entering his second month, he was more than likely missing sharing a berth with Prowl. As much he would love to be around when the sparkling came, Jazz sincerely hoped they found Wasp soon so that they could leave and let everything go back to normal for the small family.

Then there was still the ever present problem of the Twins. Ever since that hug from Bumblebee, the two were out to get any kind of show of affection much to Prowl's displeasure. Every compliment the scout gave them, every kind word or look, every laugh they managed to pull from his vocals got them more and more glares and muttered threats. The Twins were digging their own graves, and they didn't even know it.

Although they did notice the hostile glares sent their way everytime they were near Bumblebee. Jetfire noticed the day he'd offered to help Bumblebee clean his room. When the yellow mech had said yes and thanked him, he'd nearly jumped for joy, but as he was turning around to go brag to Jetstorm, he'd noticed the hostile looking expression he was getting the ninjabot down the hall. He didn't know what he'd done to piss off the cyberninja, but it was confusing him.

Jetstorm had noticed the day he tried to get Bumblebee to agree to go on a flight over Detriot. The scout had, of course, declined, giving the excuse that he would go flying with him some other time. Like his brother, Jetstorm had been given a 'Go to the Pit' look from the black and gold mech, and he had no idea why Prowl seemed so ready to jump them for even being near Bee. They finally decided to get together and talk about it in the privacy of their room on the _Steelhaven_.

"Brother, have you been noticing the glares cycle-motor Prowl has been giving us?" Jetfire asked curiously, concern coloring his voice. Jetstorm nodded, equally concerned.

"Yes. I am wondering what we have done to be making him so mad at us. We have not done him any harm." Both young mechs were confused, and as they sat there puzzling over what they could've done to make Prowl so hostile towards them, they seemed to remember just when exactly they were getting said looks.

"Every time we are near Bumblebee," Jetfire mused, understanding dawning in his processor.

"Is when Ninjabot is to be glaring at us." Jetstorm concluded, as though they had never noticed before. It still didn't answer their question. Why did he look at them so and why only when they were around Bumblebee? After few moments, the answer, or so it seemed, popped in Jetstorm's processor, "He must be Bumblebee's guardian."

"Guardian?" Jetfire questioned. Jetstorm nodded and continued, "Yes. He is being Bumblebee's guardian. I don't think he trusts us after incident with traitor Wasp." '

"Of course. We must apologize to him. And then ask for his permission to be dating Bumblebee." Jetstorm nodded in agreement with his brother. Tomorrow, they would straighten things out with Prowl and hopefully figure out which one of them Bumblebee would pick.

_88888_

Rubbing his temple with one servo, nursing a growing processor ache, Prowl vented a sigh as he tried to finish his morning ration of energon. Another 'sleepless' night with barely over two megacycles of stasis. It hadn't gone well for Bee either, the yellow mech once again spiraling through his emotions as he'd tried to get comfortable on his berth. Prowl had tried to comfort him through their bond, but it couldn't replace the beetle's want to be in the same berth with his mate. Right now, Bumblebee was catching up on the stasis he should've gotten last night and then some.

There was also another _problem_ concerning their restriction from sharing a berth. While they tried not to show it, the two parents were tense, stressed, and aggravated over the fact they hadn't interfaced in the almost two weeks since Sentinel and the Twins had been there. There were the occasional moments in the hallway where Prowl was able to steal a quick kiss from his mate and be gone before one of the others happened to come across their way; however it was all they could manage for now.

And self-interfacing while using their private comms. was proving to be a poor substitute for what they really wanted.

Cycling another sigh, Prowl lifted his energon cube to finish it off. In the next moment, the two mechs that were among his least favorite in the base popped into his vision, each wearing a similar smile of friendliness. Holding onto his cube, Prowl regarded them with a cool, calculating optic. What were they planning now?

"Mister Prowl sir..." Jetfire began but Prowl cut across him, correcting him, "Just Prowl, Jetfire."

"Prowl," Jetstorm picked up where his brother had been cut off, stating as sincerely as he was capable "we are wishing to apologize." One optic ridge raised, Prowl tilted his helm curiously.

"For what?"

"For misunderstanding," Jetfire answered, almost timidly. For a moment, Prowl thought that maybe they'd figured out what was going on with him and Bumblebee and were actually feeling sorry for themselves. _'Bout fragging time.'_ Jetfire spoke again, proving him wrong, "We are being sorry we thought Bumblebee was traitor."

_'Slag.' _Out loud, Prowl's response was, "Don't worry about that. We all thought he was Wasp. Don't trouble yourselves over that." Both of the younger mechs relaxed, oblivious to the cyberninja's annoyed tone of voice. Thinking that their conversation was at an end, Prowl rose his energon cube to his mouth to finish it off even as Jetfire began speaking again.

"Well, since we are being forgiven and you are being his guardian, we were wanting to know if it is alright for one of us to date Bumblebee?"

A deafening silence filled the room that was broken an astrosecond later by the sound of the energon cube shattering in Prowl's clenched servo, the remaining contents of the cube splattering onto the table. The ice blue visor was dark with a burning fury that the Twins couldn't understand, and insticntively, they took a step backwards.

"_What?_" A low, threatening hiss that sent a shiver through the two. Maybe asking him had been a bad idea.

"Well...we thought...it would be better...to ask you," Jetfire stammered, actually managing an understandable English sentence in his fear, "You are his guardian...aren't you?"

Prowl couldn't take it any longer. Without any sort of warning, Prowl stood abruptly from his chair, and it was all the Twins could do to keep from diving under the computer console to hide. Much to their relief, he didn't turn on them, instead heading for the doorway to the hall and disappearing down one corridor. The cyberninja had had enough. Even if he couldn't outright say it, Prowl was going to prove his claim over Bumblebee somehow, and he'd be damned if he was going to let that little tease get away with flirting with those two flying Autobots. The Elite Guard younglings didn't think they'd ever been so grateful to see a mech go in their functions. Asking Prowl his permission had definitely been a bad idea.

_88888_

Like every morning since Sentinel's arrival, the first thing Bumblebee was aware of when he came online was that he was alone in his room-his old room- on his old berth. And just like every other morning, his spark ached with a small twinge of lonliness. He'd gotten too used to recharging with Prowl. At once, there was a small pull on his spark. The sparkling missed it's father, too, missed hearing his spark pulse so close. Maybe they wouldn't have to put up with Sentinel for much longer.

The second thing he noticed was that he was lying flat on his back, his subspace compartment removed, with his arms above his helm. Even his wheel-wells had been removed as if they had been in the way or to make sure his shoulders didn't bother him. When he tried to bring his arms down, he found with surprise that his wrists were bound with decharged stais cuffs. Titling his helm back, he noticed the cable tied around the middle of the cuffs, leading off the edge of the berth and likely tied to one of the eyelets underneath that he had never known why they were there.

Just as he was considering for help, Bumblebee heard his door slid open and then shut quickly, followed by soft _beeps _as it was locked. He snapped his helm up and tried to move his legs but found that the same kind of cable bindings were tied loosely but snugly around his ankles in a way that kept his legs spread.

"Ah, you're up." Bumblebee turned his faceplate to stare at the mech who'd spoken, somewhat relieved to see his bondmate. He noticed immediately that Prowl was carrying two energon cubes. One for each of them he assumed.

"Morning, Prowl."

"Try 'afternoon'," The cyberninja corrected, looking quite unfazed and unsurprised at Bumblebee's awkward position. Bumblebee checked his internal chronometer to find that it was a little past one on Earth time. Did he really sleep that late?

"Anyway," The yellow mech continued, trying not to sound as embarrassed as he felt, "do you think you could undo all this?" He emphasized his question by jerking lightly at his bonds, still wondering how he'd ended up like this. Prowl smirked, walking over to the berth and sitting on the edge, setting the two cubes off to the side.

"Hmmmm. I don't think so," Bumblebee's optics widened. Prowl was serious. There was an evil but aroused glint to his visor that told him everything he needed to know. Prowl was the one who had tied him up, had removed the extra armour so that he was comfortable. And now...now he was going to make-up for lost time, something Bumblebee was more than willing to agree on.

If they were going to interface, however, he needed to refuel.

"Uh, Prowl. Could I have my energon?" Said mech smiled at him, reaching to grab one of the cubes. Bumblebee had hoped he would at least get untied so that he could enjoy 'lunch' with Prowl. But to his great surprise, Prowl raised the cube to his own lips and emptied it of half its contents. Annoyed, Bumblebee scowled at him, "That's cold, Prowl."

The cyberninja only smirked at him, crawling over the scout, and lowering his faceplate down to his. Pressing his lips to Bee's, Prowl swiped his glossa along the soft metal, asking for entrance. Still annoyed that half of his ration had gone down someone else's intake, Bumblebee only allowed it with the idea of biting him for revenge. The second he opened his mouth and let Prowl's glossa in though, he felt and tasted the energon as it steadily flowed down his intake, reflexively swallowing to keep from gagging. He was being fed!

While the method wasn't entirely unwelcome, it was still rather undignified to him, and Bumblebee couldn't help the way his cheeks flared in response. It wasn't long before the flow of energon slowed to a trickle that eventually stopped, the entire half-ration now in his own tanks. Even after the energon was gone, Prowl didn't break their kiss, sliding his glossa along the beetle's own and his denta, mapping every inch of his mouth. One servo traveled down the scout's side, rubbing over the sensitive plating. The other went to the back of Bumblebee's neck, tilting his head back just enough to deepen the kiss.

Bumblebee could no longer focus on one thought in particular, not with that servo going over familiar hot spots. The fact that he'd been fed half of his energon and that he was bound to the berth escaped him. That is until Prowl suddenly pulled away from him, stopping his ministrations. A disappointed whine issued from Bumblebee's vocal capacitor, but when he tried to move his arms to drag Prowl back down, he was reminded of his situation and glared at the motorcycle.

"Aw, come on, Prowl. Let me go," He pleaded, adopting the same puppy dog pout he always used to get what he wanted, "I can't even touch you like this."

A tiny, evil smirk formed on Prowl's mouth as he spoke, "That's the point, dear Bumblebee," His answer was received with a confused yet irritated scowl. Laughing quietly, Prowl leaned down until he was inches from Bumblebee's faceplate, "Consider this your punishment."

"P-punishment?" Bumblebee blinked in surprise, wondering what he'd done. This time, a disapproving frown crossed Prowl's face, his expression dark.

"For letting those two wanna-be _seekers_," He growled the word as if he were spitting out bad oil, "think that they ever stood a chance with you." It took him a moment to figure out who Prowl was talking about until he remembered that part of Jetfire and Jetstorm's programming had come from Starscream. In a way, they were clones of the former Decepticon SIC.

Smirking, Bumblebee locked his optics with his mate's own. "A little jealous, are we, Prowler?" He noticed the quick flash of Prowl's visor as he leaned forward, his faceplate close enough to the scout's own that their lips grazed against each other as Prowl replied to his mate, "Jealous? No. You are _mine_, and I'm going to remind you of that." With that said, Prowl captured his lips again and thrust his glossa in, dominating the yellow mech's mouth in possessive and slightly greedy kiss.

Servos wandered roughly over the yellow frame, stopping in certain spots just long enough to rub the sensors there before moving on. Bumblebee felt one of Prowl's hands cup his panel, slowly rubbing over the heating metal. He broke their kiss, pulling in long gasps of air to cool his circuits, his optics shuttered tight. One of Prowl's digits dug into the gaps of his pelvis as he continued to rub at the burning metal panel.

Bumblebee panted, not registering when Prowl reached over to grab the half-empty cube. It wasn't until he felt liquid being poured over him that he realized what the cyberninja was doing. Unshuttering his optics partway, Bumblebee watched as Prowl emptied the cube over his chassis, mid-driff, and even his panel once the large black servo moved away. Once it was completely gone, the older bot tossed the cube to the floor and leaned over the smaller mech.

"You're a mess," Prowl commented casually, as though covering Bumblebee in the regular-grade was a normal occurance, and the scout's faceplate flushed even redder than before. Giving the beetle his best smirk, he leaned down into Bumblebee's neck, lapping at the energon that stained the metal there. Trailing his glossa down to Bee's chassis, Prowl swiped it over the top glass to clean it of the pink fluid before running it torturously slow over the yellow chestplate. Bumblebee whined in pleasure, arching his back and unconciously trying to free his servos. He wanted them free, to be able to touch, to run them over the glossy black armour, to give his bondmate the same pleasurable experience.

As it was, he found himself quite turned on by the idea of being restrained while Prowl touched and kissed and gave. It was supposed to be a punishment for his teasings yet Bumblebee found himself enjoying every bit of it. He'd had no idea that his ninjabot had interface kinks, and even if he had, he wouldn't have thought bondage to be one of them. Another whine slipped past his lips as Prowl's glossa began to trail down his abdomen, getting closer and closer to his pelvis. One of Prowl's servos had begun to massage the yellow thigh, adding to the sensations tearing through his sensory array.

Listening to his mate's cries, Prowl was finding it harder and harder to keep up with the act of this being Bumblebee's punishment. The yellow mech hadn't asked him to release his bonds since he'd started this unusual interfaace session. Sure, Bumblebee had tried a few times to more his arms to reach for him, but he had yet to actually ask Prowl to undo the cuffs since before being fed, and the black and gold mech didn't think he could refuse if asked a second time. He figured it was best to keep the younger mech in an incoherent state of pleasure and ecstasy if he was to prove any sort of claim over the scout, even if it was only between them.

He reached Bee's panel, sliding his glossa over the heated metal, lapping away what he could of the energon while the mech's hips bucked up as much as they were able. Once it was clean (or as clean as it could get), Prowl brought his free servo up to press the catch pressure point, sliding the metal panel away and exposing Bumblebee's interfacing equipment, his port already leaking, and his spike undoubtedly pressurised and straining to be released. His visor darkened by lust, Prowl left the aching cable alone for now, instead focusing his attention on the wanting valve, slowly pressing two digits into his minbot.

Bumblebee nearly wailed in his ecstasy, arching into the touch and once more pulling at his restraints, his legs only able to pull into small arcs and his arms still held in their place by the cuffs. He heard Prowl's quiet laughter at his attempt to free himself, feeling those tan fingers lazily slip out of him only to push right back in, massaging the inner walls of valve. This was torture, it had to be, with a slowly building charge in his sensory net and his inability to do anything for his mate like this.

He wasn't aware that the sight of him writing around on his berth as much as his bonds would let him, faceplates flushed, mouth open and gasping was doing more than enough for Prowl on its own. Seeing Bumblebee as he was, drinking in the delicious sounds the scout was making with every little move, was an exceptionally pleasing and _hot_ image, burning it into his processor. The cyberninja could feel his own spike pressurising in its housing, still locked away behind his panel.

As tempted as he was to release it and frag the minibot senseless, Prowl reminded himself that this was supposed to be a punishment, and he had to draw it out for as long as possible before he let his 'prisoner' overload.

Prowl pulled his slick digits from Bumblebee, and the minibot nearly whined in protest until he felt that glossa trace the rim of his port before probing in, eliciting another cry from his vocals. He moaned in appreciation as his spike was finally released, sliding out on its own. Prowl's digits lightly stroked the yellow and black cord, running the tips of his fingers over the connector hub at the end. Prowl continued to play with Bumblebee's spike as he stabbed his glossa in and out of his valve, tasting the lubricant that was beginning to pool onto the berth and enjoying the way the scout trembled as he lapped at any sensitive wire he could reach.

Arousal coursing through his systems, Bumblebee once again unconsciously tried to move his arms, feeling the tug as the cords holding them place refused to give. The slight frustration he felt at not being able to move was quelled the moment he felt Prowl's servo wrap around the base of his cord.

"Nngh!" Bumblebee's engine revved high as Prowl began pumping his length, the ninjabot's mouth leaving his port as he climbed back over the yellow mech, claiming his mouth once more. Bumblebee moaned, back arching. He could taste himself in Prowl's kiss, and it sent a small thrill through his circuits.

Primus, why couldn't he be free for just moment, to pull Prowl deeper into their kiss? He felt the cyberninja's other servo move between them and heard the faint 'click' as he removed his interface panel.

Bumblebee allowed himself to hope that maybe Prowl would hurry up and 'face him. It'd been a little too long for his liking since their last time together, and he was desperate for an overload at the servos of his mate. However, Prowl was making sure that he never quite reached that peak, changing his touches every time he got close. The older mech's servo left his spike suddenly, trailing languidly down his thigh then up his hip, slipping down underneath to the small of his back before traveling down to his aft, tilting him up just slightly.

Bumblebee wasn't exactly sure what Prowl was doing, his processor clouded with the sensations lighting up his sensor net. He found out a moment later when the tip of Prowl's spike brushed against his entrance, the subcompact giving a muffled, blissful groan into the kiss. He bucked his hips, trying to force Prowl to take him, but he couldn't get more than just the tip, the black and gold mech teasing him by pulling ever so slightly away.

Prowl broke away from him, his servos resting on the beetle's thighs while he stared down at his captive. Bumblebee glared at him, narrowed optics smoldering as he panted, his cooling fans hissing. This was getting to be too much.

"Slag it, Prowl! Do me already!" He actually growled the sentence, bucking his hips a second time, whining in disappointment when he didn't feel much more than what was already there. Said ninjabot didn't move nor did his faceplates change though he figured he tortured his captive long enough as well as himself.

"Tell me who you belong to," Prowl ordered as smoothly as possible, thrusting deep into his mate, gritting his denta to keep his own moan of pleasure to himself.

Bumblebee gasped as Prowl's spike sank into him, filling his valve. His back arched, his answer coming in a breathless moan, "You...Ahhhh." His voice wavered as Prowl began thrusting, his hips slamming against his mate's pelvis, driving his spike as deep as he could without connecting, "Primus, Prowl! _You!_ I'm yours. Just..nnn...don't stop!"

The cyberninja smirked, his own visor a deep, dark blue, increasing his pace in response to his bondmate's cries of ecstasy, his thrusts getting harder each time their hips met. Later, he knew, he would feel slightly guilty for being so rough with his smaller mate, but for now, he only cared about making up for all the time they could've spent together...by fragging the minibot into the berth.

Bumblebee was an incoherent heap, the overwhelming pleasure, ecstasy, and continued stimulation of his port pushing him closer and closer to the edge. He could feel every inch of Prowl as the black and gold cord hit sensitive nodes and wires, knocking against his socket but never actually plugging in. He didn't think he could last much longer and then one of Prowl's servos gripped his spike one more, pumping him in time with his own thrusts, earning the cyberninja a wail as another wave of ecstasy flooded through the scout's sensors.

When Prowl finally plugged into his socket, moaning deep as he felt the echoes of pleasure from his mate flow through the connection, it was all Bumblebee could do to keep from overloading right then, the task made more difficult once Prowl's spark energy began pulsing through his systems. He tried to send his own pulses to the ninjabot, trying return _something_ since he couldn't even move to touch his mate. One Prowl's digits pushed in alongside his now stationary cable, and that was all it took.

Vents hitching and engine revving at its highest, Bumblebee's faceplate scruched up into an expression of absolute pleasure, overload rippling through his frame in pulsing waves. Prowl followed him into bliss, very nearly screaming while his frame shook, his transfluid flooding into Bumblebee's gestation chamber.

It felt like stellar cycles later before the sensory discharge eventually began to dissipate, leaving the two mechs gasping and weak with exhaustion. Most of the half ration that Bumblebee had been fed was undoubtedly burned through, and some 'energy levels low' warning popped into his HUD though he didn't really pay it any mind. Reluctantly, Prowl disconnected from him and pulled out, the minibot almost pouting.

He felt the older mech undoing the cords binding his legs open and was slightly relieved when he was able to move them freely again. Then Prowl was leaning over him, reaching up to open the cuffs. Once his servos were free, Bumblebee brought his arms back down and sat up, rubbing his wrists. Prowl was smiling at him and when he looked up to return it, he was drawn into a loving kiss. No glossa, just that soft, tender contact. Bumblebee drew away from him a klik later, smiling softly.

"Feel better?" Prowl chuckled, handing him the full energon cube that had been left alone on the berthside table.

"You have no idea," Laughing, Bumblebee drank most of his ration, that silly warning disappearing as he did, then set it aside, crawling into Prowl's lap and leaning into his chassis. Truth be told, he felt just as relaxed by the interface as his mate, even though his valve was beginning to feel a bit sore. By tomorrow, it would be a little too tender, and he would have to go to Ratchet for some gel or something to help it. It was a trip that he wasn't entirely looking forward to, but he figured it had been worth it.

All he had to do now was straighten things out with the Twins and let them down easy. He still wanted to be friends with them, and he didn't want a little misunderstanding to ruin that. He did feel slightly guilty for using them as he had just to get a good 'facing, but it wasn't like he planned on telling them that.

As Prowl's servo began fondling his aft again, he came to the final conclusion that, yes, it had been worth it and that being a tease did have certain perks.


	14. Expectations Pt 1

A/N: not much on this chapter. Just some more carrying symptoms showing up. BTW: Rust sticks are metal rods covered in wax.

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_**33. Expectations  
1. Planning and cravings**_

If anyone had asked Optimus what was more stressful, fighting Megatron or trying to avoid being on the receiving end of Bumblebee's temper, he'd tell them he'd take on the Decepticon leader any day. The yellow mech's mood swings were killer, and he seemed to be stuck on 'Pissed Off' most of the time. Prime had to remind himself constantly that it wasn't his fault; it was the glitches, but it was getting a little hard to keep that in mind.

To divert his annoyance away from the yellow mech's mood changes, Optimus had taken to doing his part to prepare for the future arrival of the little Autobot. He was currently going over everyone's bank accounts, checking to see if they'd have the credits to both buy the things they'd need for a sparkling and transport them to Earth.

He still had his savings and whatever he had left from the Academy which totaled to about 2,000. His own pay for this repair job gave him about 650 every orbital cycle. Not enough.

As a medic, even for a spacebridge crew, Ratchet got decent credits for his job, about 3,000 per orbital cycle, but he used the majority of it for supplies. Well, they still had to get the metal to make the sparkling's armour when they found out what it was. He could pay for that if nothing else.

Bulkhead had next to nothing in his account, and what he did have, Optimus didn't think it right to ask him to give that up. Perhaps he could do something else for the sparkling.

Bumblebee's account looked about the same as Bulkhead's, but there seemed to be enough for him to get by on.

Lastly was Prowl's, and much to Optimus's annoyance, it was locked with a special code that he was willing to bet Prowl wouldn't give up. There was either more than enough in the account or Prowl was still steadfast in his privacy. The latter was more of a possibility than the former.

Then he thought of the bots they could possibly call in favors from. If Ultra Magnus weren't in the Elite Guard infirmary and in danger of deactivating, Optimus might have hailed him and see what their leader could do for him. He thanked Primus Ratchet had decent connections in the Ministry of Science. Wheeljack and Perceptor believed strongly in sparklings as the future of Cybertron and would do what they could to help.

Bulkhead's family still owned the energon farm, and he figured they could at least get a better supply of energon from them. Anything besides what they had to swallow down here on Earth. With the energon converter on the fritz half the time, only the best of the batches (which wasn't saying much) went into the dispenser, and Bumblebee got first pick everyday.

Then there was Bumblebee's own brothers, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, who do anything for their little brother, and he would bet his spark that they'd get him anything he needed for his sparkling. Being in the Elite Guard, their pay combined was more than all of the Earth bots' put together. They'd even get a ship of their own to transport it all if they needed to.

Prowl's only other contact besides Jazz was Bluestreak, and they'd never been to get a hold of him. Maybe with what they had they would have enough. If they had enough materials on hand, they could start work on a nursery for the sparkling. He had considered converting Bumblebee's room into one, but it was a little far from Prowl's room, and since the yellow mech had moved in with him, they would need a room close to that in case of emergencies.

_'There is that spare room next to Prowl's. If we put in another door in that wall, they would have easy access to their sparkling's room.'_

A knock at the door disrupted his thoughts. Optimus looked up from his computer as Bulkhead came squeezing through the doorway.

"Yes, Bulkhead?"

"Sari says she wants to see us in the park. She says she's got some big idea she wants to talk about with us." The young leader had to fight to suppress a groan. Sari's ideas often led to trouble, trouble that half the time the Autobots didn't need. But they also hadn't seen the techno-organic in awhile, and with Sentinel staying on his ship more than in base nowadays, they did have a little more freedom. Bumblebee had even gone back to recharging with Prowl in his room during the night, considerably improving his mood.

"Alright. Get Ratchet, Prowl, and-"

"Uh, she told me that Prowl and Bumblebee aren't supposed to come. It's some surprise." This time, Optimus shuttered his optics, surprised. Sari always discussed her plans with Bumblebee. What could she possibly have in mind that she didn't want her best friend to know?

"Fine then. Just get Ratchet, and I'll go talk to Prowl." The giant mech nodded and squeezed back out the door, lumbering towards the medbay to get Ratchet. Optimus shut his computer down, saving whatever work he'd done, and left his office, heading in the opposite direction to Prowl's room.

Once he reached the door, Prime knocked gently on the metal surface and waited patiently for a response. His comm. crackling to life had not been the one he was expecting, Prowl's voice filtering through in low tones.

**:Come in. And be quiet:** Figuring that Bumblebee was in stasis, Prime opened the door and stepped quietly into the room. Prowl was sitting up in his berth, leaning against the wall and looking for all the world completely content. Curled up into a loose ball on the berth, Bumblebee was recharging peacefully, his helm resting in Prowl's lap while the ninjabot rubbed gentle circles on his back.

"What do you need, Optimus?" Prowl asked, looking up at his leader.

"Me, Ratchet, and Bulkhead are going to be gone for awhile. Sari wants to see us about something," He watched as Prowl tilted his helm curiously, silently asking why they hadn't invited as well, "She says it's a surprise, something for you two I'm guessing." The black mech nodded in understanding, going back to rubbing his bondmate's back, the yellow mech's engine purring contentedly while he recharged.

"Whatever it is, tell her I appreciate it." Optimus gave him a nod and left, shutting the door on his way out. He met up with Bulkhead and Ratchet in the main room. They didn't bother to try and figure out what Sari wanted to talk about as whatever they came up never even compared to what it really was. Simply going and finding out was a lot easier on their processors.

_8888_

Sari tapped her foot in time with the music she was listening to on her MP3 player while waiting for her three friends to show up. She hadn't seen them in weeks because of Sentinel's dislike for organics, and she was wondering how they were all doing and curious as to how Bumblebee was doing. She figured though if Cybertronian pregnancies were anything like humans, it was roughly the same, with crazy mood swings and weird cravings.

"What would he be craving anyway? I've only ever seen them drink energon and oil." Sari mused aloud, trying to figure exactly what her friend would be putting in his tank. Nuts and bolts? Those metal washer disks with the hole in the middle? As she pondered these thoughts, the sounds of approaching vehicles filled the air. Sari jumped off the table edge she'd been sitting on, "Oh, good. They're here."

Just as she expected, three vehicles drove up into the clearing, shifting into the familiar forms of her friends. Optimus and Bulkhead smiled her, and Ratchet looked as grumpy as ever.

"Hello, Sari."Optimus greeted, nodding to her.

"Hey, big guy," She greeted back, smiling, "So listen. I had an idea, and I think it'll be great. It'll probably make up for all this lost time we could've spent helping Prowl and Bumblebee get ready for their sparkling." The three mechs exchanged a curious but interested look between themselves then looked back at her.

"What's this big idea of yours, kid?" Ratchet asked, actually sounding interested. Sari felt the grin that split her face. She had them.

"Well, here on Earth, when a woman is expecting a baby, their friends usually help or surprise them with a baby shower." She received three highly confused looks and realized she would have to explain to them what it was, "It's a party that's supposed be fun, and the guests bring things the new parents would need to get started. For humans, it's usually clothes, bottles, toys, even a crib."

When she finished with her explaination, she looked up expectantly at the Autobots. Bulkhead, from what she could tell, looked excited by the idea of throwing a party for the sparkling. Ratchet still seemed to be considering the idea, and Optimus, as always, was thinking over every aspect of having such an event take place.

There was Sentinel to worry about, and none of them knew how long he was going to be here. Costs to transport items from Cybertron and the items themselves. Who else besides themselves to invite. Lastly, how in Pit were they going to keep it a secret from Prowl? Bumblebee would be no problem, but the cyberninja was bound to notice something.

Seeing the hesitation in their optics, Sari spoke up again, "Hey, nothing says we have to have it right away. Those things are normally held not long before the baby is born. Which for Bumblebee is when?" She looked at Ratchet for her answer. The old medic did some quick math before replying.

"Should be sometime after that December holiday of yours." Sari's blue eyes lit up.

"Oh! Perfect! We can make it their gift. And we still have to think about a room for Minibee."

"Minibee?" Optimus asked, optic ridge raised. Sari crossed her arms, looking as though they should be in trouble for not understanding.

"I don't want to call Bumblebee's baby 'it' all the time so until we figure out if it's a boy or girl, I'm calling it Minibee." From the sound of her tone, there was no changing her mind so they decided to let it go. And if Bumblebee liked it, then what could they say? They began discussing plans, getting a hold of Sunstreaker and Sideswipe and attempting to reach Bluestreak again, and what to do about a room, Sari talking animatedly about things like toys (teddy bears and plushies as she kept forgetting that they were dealing with a sparkling, not a human baby) and children's books with stories that would be 'perfect', according to her.

As they neared the end of their conversation, Ratchet's comm. pinged, and he recognized the frequency's as Prowl's. Trying not to grumble and suppressing the slight annoyance, he tapped the side of his helm to open the transmission.

"What it is this time, Prowl?"

**:Should I be concerned that Bumblebee's asking for rust sticks and transmission fluid?: **It took all Ratchet had not to burst into laughter at the bewildered tone to Prowl's voice.

"No, Prowl. Read the datapad. It's completely normal." It was only another small glitch with Bumblebee's programming, this time affecting what his systems considered as normal for fuel, but he was getting rather tired of explaining it to Prowl. He cut the comm. link and turned back to the others with a good-natured smile. They were staring at him with a mixture of amusement and slight sympathy for the black and gold mech back at base. Ratchet sighed and shook his helm, the smile turning into a smirk, "At least now we know what to get for the kid."

After putting the finishing touches on their plans, the three Autobots left Sari at the park to hang out with some of her teenage friends she'd made while adjusting to her new body. They had a lot of work to do and not much time to do it all behind Sentinel's backstruts. As he thought of his former friend, Optimus half-hoped Bumblebee would chew out the pompous aft again sometime soon.


	15. Expectations Pt 2

A/N: I pretty much had to force this chapter out so...yeah. After a certain point, it just refused to be written.

Enjoy. Read and review. No flames cause they suck ass, and I use them to make s'mores. 8D

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_**33. Expectations**_

_**2. Needy**_

Prowl finally took Ratchet's advice and read through the data-pad, and he'd caught up on what he already knew. The glitches affecting his mood, how the sparkling would be developing, and finally got to the section about Bumblebee's cravings, finding the information that Ratchet had known but wouldn't tell him. Bumblebee had been less than pleased with him when he hadn't gotten what he wanted right away, but Prowl had only wanted to be sure it was alright.

Figuring it was better to know what he was getting into, Prowl read up on what to expect out of his bondmate next. He couldn't say he wasn't looking forward to it either. The datapad had contained a section titled 'Carrying Heat Cycles', a period over which the carrier would be driven to interface with their mate as often as possible. They already interfaced at least three times a week and on some days at least twice, but he could only imagine how many times Bumblebee would want to 'face him when that 'symptom' kicked in.

Turning off the data-pad, Prowl stored it away in his desk and looked back over his shoulder at the still recharging form of his bondmate. Despite nearing the end of his second month of carrying, Bumblebee still spent the majority of his time recharging, and whenever he was online, he was slow and tired. Thank Primus Sentinel stayed on the _Steelhaven _most of the time now or they'd have issues with him over Bumblebee's sleeping schedule.

Silent as a glitch-mouse, Prowl crossed the room and sat on the edge of the berth, careful not to disturb his mate. Bumblebee mumbled something but didn't online. Smiling, Prowl reached out and ran his servo gently over the yellow chassis, over the area of Bee's sparkchamber. The sparkling would move down into it's protoform soon, and after that, they would find out what it was. Personally, he didn't care if it was a mech or femme. As long as it was healthy, as long he got to see it and hold it when it was born, he didn't care.

A soft knock at the door startled him, causing him to jump.

"Prowl? It's Optimus." Came the slightly muffled voice of his leader. Sighing, Prowl pushed himself off the berth, still careful not to wake Bumblebee, and went to the door, opening it.

"Yes?"

"Sorry if I'm disturbing you, but Sentinel has _recruited_," Despite the tone, Optimus was using the term lightly. In reality, he wasn't given a choice, "me and you to help him and Jazz with a Decepticon capture tonight."

Prowl gave him a dubious look, "_He's_ going to capture a Decepticon?"

"More like we'll catch it, and he'll take the credit as per the norm." Optimus sighed, rubbing his nasal ridge with two digits, "We leave in two breems. I'll let you get ready." With that, he headed back down to the main room where Prowl could hear Sentinel complaining about all the organic life again.

Shutting the door to block out the noise, Prowl walked back over to the berth and gently shook Bumblebee online. From the sounds of it, he was going to be gone most of the night.

"Wha-?"

"Bumblebee, I'm going on a mission with Sentinel, Optimus, and Jazz. I don't know how long it's going to take so don't wait up for me." The bleary opticed scout blinked slowly at him, as though trying to process what he'd just said. After a moment, Bumblebee sat up and wrapped his arms around Prowl's neck, mumbling 'dun go' into his chassis. The scout was at that stage where he constantly wanted Prowl by his side, and while the ninjabot found it cute at times, it sometimes prevented him from doing his job.

Giving a quiet laugh, Prowl gently untangled the scout's arms from his neck and pressed his forehead to the other's. "I'm sorry, but I have to. Sentinel didn't give me much of a choice." Bumblebee scowled at the mention of his former drill sargent and rewrapped his arms around Prowl again, trying to drag him down onto the berth.

"Please?" Bumblebee begged, his optics suddenly a lot bigger and pouting just a little. Venting a sigh, Prowl was just about to answer him when his door was suddenly and violently banged on.

"Hey, ninja-bot!" Both groaned; it was Sentinel. "Are you ready or not? We're leaving in two kliks!"

"I'll meet you in the main room." Prowl replied, hearing the arrogant mech grumble something before leaving his door. Cycling a long sigh, Bumblebee untangled himself from Prowl and laid back down on the berth.

"Go on and play 'baby-sitter' for that aft." The scout mumbled, trying to work some humor into his exhausted tone. Prowl understood that he was trying to joke around and rubbed his shoulder as the minibot was already falling back into stasis.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." He murmured and left the room, heading down the hall to the main room where Jazz, Optimus, and Sentinel were waiting. The two Primes nodded and transformed, leaving the base. Both Prowl and Jazz followed suit, trailing a little behind.

"I take it Bee wasn't happy with you leaving?" Jazz asked quietly, hearing an unmistakable sigh from the motorcycle.

"No. Not really." Prowl mumbled, his holoform mirroring the scowl that would've no doubt been on his faceplate. The white mech decided to turn the conversation to another subject, one he figured Prowl would enjoy talking about.

"So when do you get figure out what the little spark is?" Just as he predicted, a small smile appeared on the holoform's face, and he heard the motorcycle's engine purr softly.

"Next week. It's his third month. It'll move down into it's protoform in a few days and after that, Ratchet should be able to tell us what it is."

"What are you hoping for? Mech or femme?" Jazz figured there was no harm in asking. If it was him, he might have prefered a mech, someone he could teach. Prowl was silent for a moment or two, as though he really trying to decide which gender he would have preferred.

When he finally answered, it was an answer Jazz would have expected, "It doesn't matter to either one of us what it is. As long as it's healthy." Jazz's engine rumbled in agreement.

"I second that."

_8888_

The night had certainly taken a bunch of unexpected turns, the first being that the Decepticon signal in the warehouse had turned out to be a fake. The next came a few kliks later when they all turned a corner to find that Sentinel had actually caught one of the Seeker clones, Sunstorm. Or so they had thought.

When Optimus came to Prowl saying he'd seen a strange helmet, he'd requested his help looking through their archives. It had been a shock to the cyberninja to see that the helmet Optimus had seen had belonged to his former teacher, Master Yoketron. Wanting to make sure, Prowl had left without a word to Optimus and headed straight for the _Steelhaven_.

It had burned his circuits when Sentinel insulted his master as he had, but he had simply let it go in favor of following the plow truck on one of his solo capture missions. He'd even recruited Jazz to help him as they were both suspicious of his actions.

Learning of Lockdown's involvement and that Sentinel was trading parts of his own ship as payment for catching Decepticons had felt like a slap in the face. That arrogant aft was trying to make himself look like some hero by hiring a twisted bounty hunter and taking the credit for the captures.

The only good thing to come out of the night was that Prowl was finally able to avenge his fallen master and retrieve his helmet. That and the extra mods were going to take time to get used to, but he found himself proud to be wearing them.

It was near dawn before they ever returned to base, and the black and gold couldn't help feeling guilty for leaving his bondmate alone all night. He was sure to get another chewing out from the 'hormonal' mech once he came online. Prowl snuck into their room and sighed in relief to find Bumblebee still in stasis though it was likely he had gotten up at least once or twice during the night.

Deciding to pass the time by touching up the tree growing in his room, he set to work pruning the lower branches of excess leaves and unsightly twigs growing up in random spots. He'd learned how to take proper care of the old plant from the internet and various books Sari had given him, and the tree certainly looked better know that he knew just how to keep it.

Hearing his door open, Prowl stopped his work and turned to face Jazz who gave him a warm, approving smile.

"Diggin' the new armour, 'specially Yoketron's helmet." Jazz's smile grew wider as he uncrossed his arms and let them hang by his sides, "He'd be proud to have you wear it." Prowl smiled and bowed. His friend's praise helped, but it still felt odd.

"Thank you. I plan to do everything in my power to be worthy of it." He meant every word. Prowl really didn't feel as though he deserved it yet, but he was going to do whatever it took to change that and prove he really was worthy of his master's helm.

Neither one could continue their conversation, a groan catching their attention and bringing it to the yellow mech on the berth. Bumblebee unshuttered his optics and sat up, trying to bring his optics into focus and stop his processor from spinning. The blurry forms of Prowl and Jazz took shape in his clearing vision, and he stalled in shock.

Prowl looked..._different_ than he had when he left last night. The helm he wore was pronged, the two golden points extending far past the top, and it framed his faceplates. On his shoulders were large pointed what looked like guards with matching gold lining and headlights on one side. The jet boosters on his shoulders were different, and he pouted. He knew the other ones so much better.

Guards on his legs and some circular mods on his arms finished the look. His mate looked like a whole different bot, and he wasn't sure what to make of it. Just what the frag did they do last night?

Bumblebee slipped off the berth and came over to his mate, circling him once and looking over the new mods with one optic ridge raised. By this this point, Prowl felt distinctively uncomfortable. Was the scout honestly judging _him_ for having mods? Just to keep from being left in the dark, he probed the bond and nearly chuckled to learn that Bee just wasn't sure it was him.

Coming to a stop in front of him, Bumblebee stared up at his mate, faceplates blank. Prowl rolled his optics and crossed his arms.

"Do you not like it?" The smaller bot smirked and placed his servos on his hips.

"Well...I am little fragged I'm gonna have to learn to get used to that, but it doesn't look _too _bad. Besides," Suddenly his arms wrapped around Prowl's neck and dragged him down to his level. Before the ninja could utter a sound of protest, he felt small, delicate digits running up the new jet boosters and trace the outside of the turbines. Prowl bit back a moan even as the scout purred, "I can have a little fun learning just how sensitve these things can be."

Bumblee then pulled him into a heated kiss, as if forgetting that Jazz was not more than five feet away. Prowl, however, did remember and tried to break away to keep his friend from feeling awkward or anything along those lines. It didn't help when Jazz laughed and turned to the doorway.

"I'll just leave you cats to it. Have fun." With that, he was gone, shutting the door behind him. Now that Jazz was gone, Prowl let himself relax, eagerly returning the kiss, pushing his glossa past the beetle's lips and exploring his mouth. Bumblebee somehow managed to lead them back over to the berth.

As soon as his back hit the metal, the scout broke their kiss, drawing short cycles of air to cool over-heated circuits, optics quickly darkening in his arousal. He leaned up and nuzzled Prowl's neck, purring into his audio once again, "I want you inside me."

It wasn't the first time Bumblebee had used the line on him to seduce him, but it did help him to understand why he'd suddenly been molested in front of Jazz. Visor flashing, Prowl drew away to look him in the face and smirked.

"You're in heat aren't you?"

"Maaaaaaaaaaaaaybe." The scout replied, shrugging his shoulders. The cyberninja leaned down and gave him a quick peck.

"Then I guess your wish is my command, my mate." Prowl kissed him again, letting his servos wander over the quickly heating frame. This was going to be a fun cycle.

_8888_

"Yo Ratch!" Ratchet turned at the sound of the unwanted nickname to the very mech he'd given him said nickname. Jazz had pushed his way into the medbay and strolled over casually, cheeky grin in place.

"What do you need, Jazz?"

"Any reason Bee would out of the blue jump ol Prowler and start making out, no matter who's in the room?" Seeing the look he was getting, Jazz added, "And Prowl didn't send me to ask. He really read the data-pad. I'm askin' cause it happened in front of me." This caused the medic to burst out laughing. He'd wondered when that little symptom would show up, and now that it had...

"Well, I guess we won't be seeing much of Prowl now." The medic chuckled, crossing his arms. Before Jazz could ask another question, Ratchet launched into his explanation, glad he didn't have to explain _this one_ to the other ninja on base, "It's another glitch, Jazz. There are really only three that affect him: the mood swings, the cravings, and now this. It's most often known as 'Carrying Heat Cycles' in a lot of Cybertronian medical reports."

"Carrying heat cycles? Wait a minute, lemme guess. It's kinda the same thing as a normal heat cycle..." Ratchet nodded and picked it up, "Only more frequent and completely random. One nanosec, Bumblebee is completely fine. The next, all he's going to want is to be fragged as much as possible."

Jazz grinned and leaned against one of the berths, "So followin' that logic, Prowl's gonna be one exhausted mech by the time this is over, and Bumblebee?"

"Will be lucky if he can walk right." Ratchet concluded with humor, both mechs having a hard stifling their laughter.


	16. Expectations Pt 3

A/N: I want to use this opportunity to thank all of you are reading, reviewing, favoriting, and adding this story to their alert lists. I'd thank you all by name, but there are so many of you now, I don't think I could keep track. _ So just know that you all loved and appreciated, and I hope you are enjoying this. I hope to hear from you all soon.

Enjoy! And once again, thank you! *hugs all*

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_**33. Expectations**_

_**3. (no subtitle yet)**_

Optimus knew it was a bad idea to disturb them now. Bumblebee was in the middle of one of his heats and interrupting him and Prowl now would certainly earn the responsible mech an aft-chewing, but Sentinel Prime wanted Prowl to watch the monitors while he and Jazz went for another patrol to look for Wasp, and Ratchet wanted Bumblebee for a check-up on the sparkling.

Sighing, the red and blue Prime reached their door and started to knock when a very distinctive and slightly muffled moan reached his audios.

"Ah... P-Prowl...Harder..."

Optimus didn't think his faceplates could get any redder, but he knew if he didn't tell them, then Sentinel would, barging in with no regard for privacy. He gently knocked on the door, and from inside, he heard Prowl swear in Cybertronian.

"Hey, guys. It's Optimus," He stated before they could ask questions. There was silence for a moment before he heard the unmistakable sounds of _resuming activities_. Rolling his optics, he continued, "Anyway...Prowl you're on monitor duty by Sentinel's orders," Again, he heard the normally level-headed ninja swear, but he knew it was because Bumblebee was in heat (which had to be hard for him to even think about resisting since he was the yellow mech's mate), and the interruptions were getting on the black mech's nerves, "and Ratchet wants to see you in his med-bay, Bumblebee."

"W-we'll be rIGHt there, PrIME," Bumblebee replied as best he could. From the sounds of it, Prowl was giving him the fragging of a lifetime. Deciding to leave them to it, Optimus headed back for the main room. Before he could reach the door, Sentinel walked into the hallway, ever present annoyance on his faceplate.

"Optimus, where's that ninjabot of yours? Me and Jazz are about ready to head out."

"He's, uh, in the middle of something right now. He'll be here in a few kliks. I'll watch the monitors until he's done." Optimus stated, doing his best to sound as genuine as possible. Sentinel regarded him with a suspicious optic, and for a moment, Optimus feared the Elite Guard would ignore his offer and try to go drag Prowl out of his room himself. The team was having enough of a time keeping the relationship and the sparkling a secret from Sentinel.

Finally, after a tense and uncomfortable pause, Sentinel scoffed and turned away, "Whatever. Just make sure someone's watching 'em. Wasp could show up anywhere, and I'd like to get that maniac back to Cybertron." With that, the blue Prime left, Jazz following him with a resigned look about his faceplates.

Sighing in relief, Optimus made his way into the main room and to the monitors. It wasn't the first time he'd had to cover for the ninjabot since this mess had begun, and he was sure it wouldn't be the last.

_'You so owe me, Prowl.' _Optimus thought as he took his seat at the computer console.

_88888_

"S-shouldn't we...oooh...see what RatCHET...ahhh...wants?"

"You know what he wants," Prowl replied to the small mech, trapped between him and the wall. "For now, you're mine." He'd been arranging some items near his desk when the beetle had come up to him, needing his _attention_, and as his mate, he had to give said attention. Now that he was so close, there was no way in Pit he was letting Bumblebee go that easy, bucking his hips even as he began speaking again.

"Yeah, I guess...AH!" Bumblebee knew exactly why Ratchet had wanted to see him. Less than three days agos, he'd been woken from a stasis nap by a strange tug on his spark which was followed not long after by a sharp, tiny blow to the walls of his gestation chamber. His sparkling had finally moved down to its protoform, and today was the day they would find out what it was. He couldn't wait.

As if knowing it's mother was thinking about it, there came another hard kick, Prowl feeling the tiny vibration against his own middle as a result of the contact. It made him stop and both mechs looked between them. Another kick, and Bumblebee couldn't help but wince. For a sparkling, it was pretty strong.

They looked back at each other, and Bumblebee grinned sheepishly, "Heh. I guess we woke it up."

Prowl sighed and smirked, "First Optimus, now our sparkling? Primus, is the whole base out to keep us from interfacing?" Bumblebee giggled at the joking tone and kissed him.

"Well, it may be awake, but who says we can't finish?" Prowl grinned and kissed him again, thrusting once more into his bondmate's port.

_88888_

Ratchet heard the doors to his medbay hiss open and the sounds of two distinctive pedesteps walk in.

"Bout time you two showed up." He grumbled, turning from his machine to face the two. Even without his medical training and knowledge that Bumblebee's heats had started, Ratchet, frankly anybot, would easily guess what those two had been up to. While there were still some faint streaks of yellow decorating Prowl's chassis (he needs a better solvent, Ratchet thought absently), the inside of Bumblebee's thighs bore some tan scuffs that almost blended with the yellow metal enough they probably hadn't noticed.

Shaking his helm, Ratchet smirked at the two, crossing his arms, "Primus, Bumblebee. You're going to wear the poor mech out," He wanted to bust out laughing when a bright red flush rose in both their faceplates but neither said anything so he continued, "Give him a break once in awhile or he'll go offline in exhaustion."

This time, he was surprised when Prowl actually chuckled and looked almost thoughtful, "Well, I suppose it wouldn't be a bad way to die then." Bumblebee gently shoved him, still blushing like mad. Ratchet rolled his optics; it was obvious being around the little mech was starting to have its effect on Prowl. The medic didn't comment on it however and gestured towards the berth.

"Whatever ya say, Prowl. Now, I'm assuming you both want to find out if...Minibee," Sari's nickname for the sparkling had taken root with the rest of the team, and Ratchet deemed it appropriate to use it for the situation at hand, "is a mech or femme."

"Slag yeah!" Bumblebee exclaimed, hopping up onto the berth and laying down. He was near impatient for Ratchet to get to work. The ambulance mech chuckled at his enthusiasm, wheeling over the machine he had thought he wouldn't need when he joined the team but was glad he kept. It was designed to scan the sparkling's spark signature, isolate that one unique frequency, and cross-check the coding lines with other recorded frequencies to determine if it was mech or femme.

As Ratchet set up the machine, hooking it up to the carrying mech, he watched out of the corner of his optic as Prowl took hold of Bumblebee's servo and intertwined their digits. They'd been looking forward to this for awhile. They all had. Bumblebee found himself squeezing Prowl's servo nearly every five nanosecs and each one was returned. Outwardly, they were calm and reserved, unwillining to disturb Ratchet during his work, but both sparks were pulsing wildly in excitement and anticipation.

It was hard to stay completely calm when at any moment Ratchet would tell them what their little spark was. After a klik or two of waiting, the machine finally displayed its results to Ratchet, and the medic grinned at the two waiting parents.

"Congratulations, you two. It's a femme."

"It is?" Bumblebee asked as he sat up on the berth, tone at once curious and overjoyed.

"Yeah, sure is," Ratchet replied with a nod. Schematics for her armour scrolled up next, and the red and white chuckled, "And I'll bet a million credits she's gonna be a daddy's girl."

Saving the designs to his main computer console, Ratchet turned off the machine and unhooked Bumblebee from it. Once he was free, the minibot leapt from the berth and threw his arms around Prowl, kissing him once then resting his helm under his neck. Prowl's arm wrapped around him while one servo went to rest of Bumblebee's own on his abdomen. A warm, contented smile graced both faceplates, and Ratchet couldn't help it.

From his subspace, he produced a small camera and immediately snapped a holo-scan of the two, the flash startling them apart from each other. When the image came out, Ratchet passed it to the two confused mechs and smiled.

"You're gonna want to look back on this day, aren't ya? Well, here's a little memory for it." Bumblebee took the scan from him and grinned.

"Thanks, Ratchet." He stored it away in his subspace then began a bee-line for the door, "Now, if either of you don't mind, I'm gonna go tell Sari."

"Are you her?" This made the beetle stop in his tracks and turn to face his mate.

"No. I was going to go to the Tower." He watched as Prowl exchanged a look with Ratchet, and his previous joy evaporated into annoyance and slight anger, "What? I can't go tell my best friend I'm having a femme?"

"It's not that, Bee," Prowl replied instantly, trying to placate the scout before he felt the brunt of his anger again, "It's just that Wasp is still out there, and he knows you're carrying now. I just don't think it's safe..." Suddenly, Bumblebee grabbed his servos, trying to drag him towards the doors.

"Then come with me." When Prowl opened his mouth to protest, the yellow mech cut him off, huffing, "Look, Prowl. I've not been off base in almost two weeks. Primus help you, if I don't get out of here, you'll be the first I send aft-first through the shredder." The threat was technically empty of course, but it had its own hidden meaning behind it. Translated, it meant that Prowl would be recharging on the couch for a week while the others would have to avoid a severely pissed Bumblebee.

Sighing, Prowl relented and followed his bondmate, Ratchet throwing him a pitied stare complete with small smile. Ratchet however was glad for the distraction of Bee visiting Sari, knowing those two it would take awhile. They could finally get started on the sparkling's room and, knowing its gender now, decorate it appropriately. He made a mental note to contact Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, who were definitely coming for the sparkling shower, and Perceptor and Wheeljack to send the materials he needed to make the armour.

_'It's going to be a long orbital cycle.'_

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MORE A/N: Oh, what is this? The sparkling is kicking? And they can feel it? What kind of crack am I smoking? You may never know.

Actually, I was following a very simple and believable line of thinking. One, it's moved down into its protoform, meaning it's no longer just gonna sit there. If it doesn't move at all, don't you think they'd be slightly worried?

Two: Of course Bee is gonna feel it moving; it's inside him! But when the others feel (and I am so gonna have a scene with that! )what they're actually feeling isn't the kick itself, but the vibration it causes inside. It's all metal of course. When metal strikes metal, it's gonna vibrate.

So you see? I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy at all. This is just to tell any possible flamers who would say 'why would it kick? How could they feel it? You're stupid' that I found a way, and you can kiss my ass if you don't like it. Don't like it? Don't review, don't complain to me, don't really give a shit if you hate it. Back button is right up there. I'm not here to please you. I'm here for the people who actually like this fic. So good day to you.


	17. Light

A/N: Straight up fluff. That's about it. The next chapter to Neutral is getting worked and should be updated soon.

Enjoy. R&R please! *hugs you all*

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_**3. Light**_

Ratchet had advised him once not to transform too much while he was carrying. While it might not seem like it, it took a lot of energy just to shift from one form to another, and his sparkling needed that energy. That, and it was just plain uncomfortable with a fully constructed protoform sitting in his gestation chamber.

Bumblebee figured however that it wouldn't kill him to drive to Sari's and back, and as long as Prowl was there beside him, he knew everything would be fine. With those new jet boosters of his, the cyberninja could just carry him home if he had to.

Before they had left the base, Bumblebee had made absolutely sure to latch himself on Prime in a hug, announcing happily that the base would soon be graced with the presence of a little femme, and that he needed to start looking into stuff for the sparkling. Which Prime had already done with the secret planning of a sparkling shower for the expecting parents.

Just as Prowl was passing by their leader, Optimus grabbed him by the shoulder and sternly reminded him that he had a lot to make up for since he was the one covering half of the ninja's duties. Laughing nervously, Prowl had told him that he would definitely make up for missing his duties as soon as he could.

When they got to Sumdac Tower, though, they'd been informed by the secretary that Sari and Professor Sumdac had gone out of town for the day and would be back in the evening. A little put out by the news, Bumblebee left a message with the robotic secretary to give to the techno-organic when she got back then he and Prowl left.

Now, they were almost home, barely a quarter mile from the warehouse when Bumblebee decided pestering his bondmate would be a great way to pass the time.

"You know, that sidecar really doesn't suit you." He could've snicked when he heard Prowl's engine rumble low as a substitue for a sigh.

"And here I thought you liked the mods."

"Well, they do make you look more attractive," Bumblebee commented with a small stutter of his engine, the closest thing to a giggle he could manage, "But that sidecar they form is just a little much."

"I can't help that they form that," Prowl countered with annoyance. He loved Bumblebee, but he was pushing his luck at the moment. They pulled up into the big yard outside the warehouse and shifted to their robot forms, Prowl's scowl mirroring his tone. Neither heard the sounds of approaching jet engines.

"I'm just saying, maybe you should consider reforma-" _CRASH!_ It took Bumblebee a moment to register what happened, but a sharp pain in his abdomen had him checking on his sparkling immediately. She was scared and confused but not hurt. So why did he hurt so bad? He finally comprehended that Jetfire was laying over his mid-driff, rubbing his helm while he groaned.

"Ooooooh. That hurts." The orange twin mumbled sitting up and getting off Bumblebee. The young Elite Guard had been practicing some flying manuvers, including some low flying techniques. When Bumblebee had suddenly entered his flight path, he hadn't been able to avoid him and instead transformed to keep from damaging him too bad. He'd ended up tackling the poor mech to the ground, catching him right in the middle.

Prowl was at his side in an instant, grabbing one of his servos and putting his other arm under his shoulders, helping the yellow mech to sit up. "Bumblebee, are you alright?" Over their bond, he heard the other question, _Is the sparkling okay?_

It was easy to answer that question. She was fine, and he told Prowl so over their unseen connection, but he felt like slag. The impact had made him dizzy and nauseated, and the minute Prowl had him sitting upright, his tanks churned horribly, his processor spinning out of control. When Prowl helped him to his pedes, and he straightened up a little too quickly is when the scout lost control.

Jetfire and Prowl both gasped as Bumblebee doubled over, purging his tanks with a nasty retch, and it was all Prowl could do not to slug Jetfire right in the face. Stranglely enough, after emptying his tanks, Bumblebee felt his processor clearing just enough to remember Ratchet's orders from month's ago.

_'No rough housing.'_ Now he knew why. For a carrying mech, the end result, besides the risk of hurting the sparkling (which thankfully hadn't happened), was feeling like slag.

Bumblebee straightened up again, leaning on Prowl while he took slow intakes to settle his tanks, "I-I'm fine, Prowl." He could feel his bondmate's anger as well as if it were his own, but it wasn't Jetfire's fault. It was an accident. Feeling stable on his pedes, Bumblebee started for the entrance, "I'm gonna go lay down though." The scout gently tugged on Prowl's servo, intent on having the cyberninja stay with him if only to keep him from murdering Jetfire. After throwing the twin one last glare, Prowl followed him into the warehouse.

Jetfire was rooted to the spot. Surely, surely he hadn't hit Bumblebee _that_ hard. He knew he hadn't. He'd transformed to slow his momentum and keep from doing serious damage, but even he knew it would still hurt. He just didn't think he'd hit Bumblebee hard enough to make him purge.

He was still standing there when Jetstorm and Jazz showed up to give their reports to Optimus before going to the _Steelhaven_. Both noticed the pool of unprocessed energon and looked, concerned, at Jetfire.

"Brother, you are feeling ill?" It took the orange twin a moment to process his brother's words, but after a moment, Jetfire shook his helm and looked up with a guilty faceplate and worried optics.

"No." He replied slowly, "I crashed. Into Bumblebee. I was not hitting him hard, and he purged still." Jetfire's confused tone told Jazz all he needed to know. Sighing, he led the two Elite Guard youngsters to the far side of the warehouse, out of hearing range of any bot who happened to walk outside.

"Alright, you two. It's time you were were let in on a _little_ secret."

_88888_

Nearly half a cycle later, and Bumblebee was out cold, deep in stasis on the berth while Prowl watched over him. It taken the cyberninja a good deal of that time to completely calm down from the incident outside, logic and common sense telling him that, yes, it had been an accident, something neither of them could have predicted happening even if those two had known about the sparkling. He knew later he would have to apologize to Jetfire for seeming so hateful.

Lost in his thoughts, rubbing Bumblebee's back while he recharged, Prowl nearly missed the quiet knock at his door, only turning when he heard it creak open and two mechs shuffling in. He was surprised to see the Twins standing there, their expressions at once apologetic and ashamed. Before Prowl could ask what they were doing, Jetfire spoke up, his voice matching his face.

"I am sorry," One of the few 'English' sentences he could say, "We were not knowing about sparkling."

"Mister Jazz told us, and we are being sorry for trying to date Bumblebee."

For a klik, all Prowl could do was stare at them, his optics shuttering in surprise behind his visor. Jazz actually told them about the sparkling? As the silence went on, both jets squirmed uncomfortably, waiting for the black and gold bot to respond, to say something, do anything other than stare at them.

Finally, he gave them a small, half-smile, something that visibly relaxed them as it meant, to them, he wasn't angry with them even though he had every right to be. "It's alright, you two. As you said, you didn't know."

"Is there...anything we can be doing to help?" Jetstorm asked, eager to make up for flirting with the black mech's mate. Prowl thought for a moment. They really didn't have to do anything. Bumblebee wouldn't want to trouble them, and he honestly couldn't think of much to ask of them. When something finally presented itself in his processor, he smiled at them.

"For one, don't tell Sentinel. He's got a bit of a problem with sparklings," They nodded in understanding. They worked with the Prime. Of course they knew of his stance on sparklings, thinking of them as nothing more than clumsy, under-developed life-forms. The Twins knew better than to let him in on the secret that Jazz had so carefully told them, "For another, do you happen to have a case or two of rust sticks on the _Steelhaven_?" They nodded, confused.

Prowl chuckled, "Good. Bring them if you can. Our own supplies are running a little low." Jetfire and Jetstorm laughed, figuring that was what Bumblebee had been craving, and nodded. The tan and black servo that had been gently rubbing the beetle's back suddenly came up over his side and rested on Bumblebee's abdomen. Prowl's visor immediaetly lit up, and he smiled at the two. "The sparkling's kicking."

Amber optics widened and quietly Jetfire stepped forward. "Can...can I be feeling?" They hadn't gotten the chance to be around sparkling's very much, working as refinery bots before the explosion that changed the course of their lives. Prowl nodded at him, grabbing the white servo and gingerly placing it on the same spot his own servo had been. Depending on where a mech's hand was, they could feel the vibrations of the kicks no matter where it was on the carrying mech's middle, but they were always strongest when one had their servo right over the area of the kick.

Luck proved to favor Jetfire as no sooner had he put his servo on the black stomach did he feel it, a strong, resonating vibration underneath his palm, meaning the sparkling had kicked at its gestation chamber directly underneath the jet's servo. The orange twin's optics lit up, his mouth falling open in wonder. It was one thing to know what was going on, quite another to feel the proof.

He beckoned Jetstorm over eagerly, and a blue hand replaced his own, and the visored twin was given the same reward of feeling the initial contact vibration. Both Elite Guard younglings looked at the calm, serene faceplate of the recharging Bumblebee, and in that moment, they saw him in a new light, one Prowl had been seeing him in for a long time now.

They'd heard the word 'glowing' used to describe carrying bots and even for pregnant human females. They hadn't understood why. There wasn't some shiny aura around them that they could see and so it hadn't made sense why the term had been applied. Now they knew.

Even there deep in stasis on the berth, Bumblebee looked happier, full of a joy they could only dream of. The happy-go-lucky, irresponsible mech they knew had changed. He was responsible for a whole new life, born out of the love he and Prowl shared for each other, and the result was a mech who looked absolutely radiant because of it.

Smiling up at Prowl, Jetfire and Jetstorm nodded as though there had been some question asked and spoke just the same, "We will be helping any way we can." With that, they left as quietly as they'd come in, determined to get to the ship and back with the 'cargo' and hoping they were still around when it came time for the sparkling to be born. Anything that could turn Bumblebee into somebot like that was worth seeing.


	18. Questioning

A/N: OMG, this is WAY overdue for an update. Sorry, guys. College has been eating me alive, and it doesn't help that my mini laptop was sent off for repairs. It's been out of commission for over a month. DX But I got this done over the weekend, and it's mostly filler, but it's also important too. So I hope you enjoy it.

R&R please. Constructive Criticism is a must! 8D Flames will be laughed at cause they amuse me. :3

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_**16. Questioning**_

Worry. Fear. Anxiety. Whatever it was that had Bumblebee upset had Prowl concerned. The yellow mech hadn't said anything, but he'd seemed to have forgotten that his bonded could tell if something was bothering him.

His patrol shift over, Prowl was busy weaving his way through traffic to get back to the warehouse with its usual occupants. Sentinel and his crew had finally left Earth a few days agao after and incident with Wasp and Blackarchnia. The crazed innocent had been transformed into a techno-organic by the femme. She wanted to use him as an experiment, to see if she could transform back into a full mech and use the process to get rid of her organic half.

Wasp had become Waspinator and though Optimus pleaded for forgiveness on Bumblebee's behalf, the insect mech was unwilling to forgive the bot who had imprisoned him and ruined his life. Not long after, Waspinator's systems began to malfunction, his personal transwarp field becoming a bomb. For whatever reasons she had, Blackarchnia had shielded them from the blast though over half of Dinobot Island had been lost along with the two techno-organics.

With no criminal left to arrest, Sentinel, Jazz, and the Twins left Earth to go back to Cybertron. Which was a welcoem to relief to the Eargh bots as it meant they could continue preparing for the sparkling.

Engine purring in what could have been a sigh of relief when the warehouse came into view, Prowl disabled his holoform and accelerated just enough to pull into the lot within the next five kliks. At this time of day, Optimus would be watching the monitors while Bulkhead would be taking Prowl's place on patrol. The cyberninja's shifts had been cut nearly in half to him room to work and to tend to his mate's needs.

Ratchet was flipping through the channels grumbling below auditory hearing. He was never happy with anything on T.V., and that wasn't likely to change soon.

With a curt nod to Optimus who, with a nod of his own, marked the cyberninja in the computer termimal as returned from patrol, Prowl passed by the medic still grumbling on the couch and strode down the hall to his shared room, his pede-steps quick and light. He stopped just in front of his door, frowning when he thought of what mood Bumblebee possibly might be in. The swirling mix of emotions coming across their unseen connection had the black mech wondering if simply walking in would earn either a needy hug or busted audio receptors.

Cycling a long bout of air through his vents, Prowl allowed the frail looking door to slide away and walked, almost carefully, over the threshold.

"I'm not going to throw anything at you, if that's what you're thinking." His attention was drawn to the desk where Bumblebee sat, stylus in servo, aimlessly doodling nonsense on what was once a blank datapad. Relaxing somewhat, Prowl pressed the button that would shut the door and crossed the short distance to his mate.

From his standing point, he could see the doodles more clearly though they still made little to no sense to him. Circles that turned out to be optics, lines that once more was added to them, were mouths, smiles, frowns. The doodle he was currently working on was beginning to take on a shape that Prowl couldn't quite identify yet.

"Something's bothering you." The ninja stated quietly, placing one servo on the beetle's shoulder. Bumblebee's servo stopped for a moment, but within a nanosec, he was back to working on his little drawing.

"What makes you think something's wrong?"

"You can't lie to me, Bumblebee. I've felt it the whole time I was on patrol." The scout didn't answer his mate, merely continued working on his datapad sketch, paying Prowl no mind at all. Seeing that he wouldn't get anything out of the smaller bot this way, Prowl decided to try a different approach. "Would you rather go to the park if you're tired of sitting in here?"

Bumblebee's optics lit up immediately, turning around to face Prowl for the first time since he'd entered the room. "Really? Leave base? Slag yeah! Let's get out of here." Grabbing Prowl's servo, the yellow mech practically dragged him to the door without giving him a chance to speak. Smirking, Prowl let himself be lead.

_88888_

The park, as expected, was full of humans, Saturday being the perfect day of the week for adults, teens, and children to come and hang around, talking, playing, or just enjoying the view. However, it wasn't helpful to the two mechs who'd come to enjoy some time alone.

Being on Earth for as long as they had, Prowl had learned a thing or two about the way humans viewed their society, and he could honestly say that's where he frowned upon the organics. In their world, two members of the same gender who were in love were apparently sinful and damned to an eternity of fire and torture in something called Hell.

While they were technically genderless, the cyberninja knew that most humans, including their techno-organic friend, viewed them all as 'males'. They classified the Cybertronian race as they did their own, with male and female labels, not just the sentient alien machines that had come to their aid time and again.

As much as he hated it, Prowl didn't want the humans and their ignorant ideas of normality to put any stress on his carrying mate. Using his holoprojector to keep them hidden, Prowl led Bumblebee to the section of the park that used mostly by the smaller children. Together, they sat underneath one of the trees just on the edge of the park and watched the humans.

Small children ran around the slides, swings, and other playground equipment, laughing and squealing. Nearby, their parents watched them carefully, keeping one eye their kids while also talking to other parents about Primus knows what. From what Prowl could see, there were a few couples who had newborn infants that were sheltered from the sun with umbrellas. Sitting on a bench on the other side of the playground, a couple sat together, the woman's stomach well distended and round, as if she'd swallowed a basketball.

Prowl let a small smile pull at his mouth. While Bumblebee would never show any physical evidence of carrying, the taller bot was happy to see that they weren't the only ones in Detriot expecting.

"Do you think we're ready for this?" The sudden question disrupted his train of thought, Prowl looking to his left where Bumblebee was leaning against his shoulder.

"What?" Bumblebee turned his helm, baby-blue optics locking with Prowl's own icy ones.

"For the sparkling. Do...do you think we're ready for it? To be parents?" The questions completely stalled Prowl's processor. How in Primus' name did Bumblebee come up with such thoughts? Not that he didn't think his mate capable of thinking, and the scout had proven on several occasions that there was room for doubt.

Finding his vocals again, Prowl addressed his mate. "It's a little late to be thinking of that isn't it?" The way Bumblebee's optic ridges furrowed into a disapproving frown told the ninja that he'd managed to say the wrong thing. Again. "What I mean is why are you thinking of that now? The sparkling will be here in a little under two orbital cycles. Why is this bothering you now?"

Bumblebee vented a sigh, drawing in the dirt with a stick Prowl hadn't realized he was holding.

"I honestly don't know. I mean, Jetfire crashing into me kinda bothered me only cause I wasn't paying attention like I should've been."

"Bumblebee, that was an accident."

"Yeah, it was, but it could've been prevented if I'd thought ahead for once." The yellow mech's mood suddenly plummeted, his spark sending out pulses of grief and dread, and when he spoke, Prowl understood why, "If Jetfire had been going a little faster, we might've lost this one, too."

As if on cue, memories began assaulting Prowl, flashes of the dark, depressing time in which they'd lost their first sparkling. The tarp covering the tiny body, breaking the news to Bumblebee, the weeks spent in depression while trying to recover, the fight...

Pushing the memories away, Prowl wrapped his arm around Bumblebee's shoulder, holding him as close as their bodies would allow. "I would never allow that to happen. This sparkling will be born no matter what, and we will welcome her with open arms. The crash scared me, too, but I'm glad that you're both alright."

"I told you. The crash didn't bother that much, and I know Jetfire didn't mean to." Bumblebee's tone suggested that he'd expected his bondmate to know _exactly_ what he was talking about. "I blamed myself as much as Jetfire, and it got me thinking.'

"Everything I do or have done affects the sparkling," Bumblebee vented a sigh, "And I've fragged off a lot of bots in the past, Prowl. I'm worried that if they come looking for payback that they might try to harm our sparkling." The scout pulled his knees to his chassis and laid his chin on his arms. "I just don't want her to get hurt because of me."

Prowl knew about Wasp (or Waspinator rather), and of course, there was Shockwave whose cover had been blown because of the yellow mech. Those were the only two that had really worried him, and one was deactivated now. Or least to their knowledge. Shockwave was a ruthless Decepticon. He prayed to Primus the double-agent never visited Earth.

But what other enemies could Bumblebee have made? If Prowl didn't know about them, how could he keep his family safe? He was tempted to ask, but he didn't want to worry the bot further.

"You're not the only one whose thought about that, Bumblebee." A flicker of optics, and Prowl knew he had the other mech's attention. "I wasn't always the bot you've known. Before Yoketron, I was a lot like you, and there were several mechs I've crossed paths with that I'd rather not meet again."

Bumblebee sighed. "Prowl, that really isn't helping me much."

"Then you're not getting it." With little coaxing, Prowl pulled the smaller mech into his lap, wrapping his arms around his waist and keeping his servos over his midsection. "We both know we've made mistakes in the past, and we're both willing to own up to them. Yet we're also concerned about how the choices we've made could affect our sparkling." The darker bot smiled, truly smiled, "And I'd say that shows what a fantastic 'mother' you'll be to our little spark."

The scout returned the smile that was being given to him, leaning against the sleek black and gold chassis, letting his engine rumble with content.

"Heh. Thanks, Prowler."

They sat like that for awhile, people-watching and laughing at the little kids running around the playground. After nearly a cycle, Prowl looked down at his smaller mate.

"What were you drawing earlier?" Bumblebee shuttered his optics a few times before remembering the datapad he'd left on Prowl's desk back at the warehouse.

"Oh, that? I was just wondering what she'd look like." A small chuckle escaped past his lips. "Primus, I hope she gets my faceplate and optics." Prowl tilted his helm slightly in the gesture of an optic roll, gently tapping the younger on the back of his helm.


	19. Keeping A Secret

A/N: I know, I know. This is way over-due. College and such guys. This is just filler though, and I hope you enjoy that much at least. I'll try to quicker with the next update. Also for you _Neutral_ readers, that is on hiatus at the moment until things get caught up. If I happen to write a chapter for it, though, I will post it. Thank you for your patience.

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_**53. Keeping A Secret**_

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How they were managing to keep this 'baby shower' a secret from Prowl, Ratchet didn't know. If the trained ninja-bot did know, he hadn't given any indication of the sort. The red and white sincerely hoped not. All the efforts they'd gone through just to make it a surprise would go to waste if Prowl had figured it out.

They all had their jobs to do to get ready for the sparkling. Ratchet was building her armour using a metal not that different from protoform plating which would expand as she grew until around her 1,200th stellar cycle online, the time she would get her first upgrade. Optimus was in charge of making sure the invited guests got here on time with the gifts.

Bulkhead put his artistry to work, painting pictures for the sparkling's room. Simple things that were considered normal by both Cybertronian and Earth culture. An organic yellow pup with large blue eyes and a cartoonish, open smile with its tongue lolling out of his mouth. A glitch mouse gnawing on an energon goodie with pale gray backgrounds.

A black and white cat that the green wrecker had noticed followed Prowl around now and again, sneaking up on a bird with a playful glint in the green eyes. To top off the small gathering of paintings, Bulkhead had done a portrait of Prowl and Bee underneath the large tree in their room. He did the two mechs by memory; the rest by a data-shot he'd snapped of the room once Prowl was gone.

When it came to the actual sparkling's room, they worked together on it. The unused spare room next to Prowl's was an ideal place for it. The walls were solid and uncracked despite the large organic growth next door; it was close enough that if any problems came up, they wouldn't have to go far to check on her, and it was easier than most of the base had been when it came to rewiring for electricity.

To allow for more work time, Optimus occasionally ordered the two out of base, giving Bumblebee the stress relief he needed and keeping Prowl from discovering what they were doing. Just like today for example. Optimus had ordered Prowl to take the young mech out somewhere to keep him from feeling cooped up and to keep the rest of them from feeling the said bot's temper should he have a mood swing.

While they were gone, Optimus and Bulkhead planned to do some fixing up on the room. They'd moved out whatever boxes and crates were in there, swept and cleaned, and made minor repairs when needed. Now, they were filling in cracks in the concrete floor which they later planned to cover with a soft silcone material.

At the moment, Bulkhead was filling in the last crack while Optimus was fixing up the last of the wiring, testing the lights to make sure they worked. Once he was sure all the connections were sound, he insulated the wires and began sealing up the wall. Bulkhead had used a quick drying solution and with kliks, he was smoothing out the little bumps that had managed to escape his notice before.

"Well, it looks like Prowl and Bumblebee will be off to a great start with this room." Optimus stated, the wall sealed.

"Yeah. They're gonna like it..."

_i"Optimus! Prowl and Bee are pulling into base."/i _Sari's voice rang out over his comm. link. Whenever Optimus sent out the couple for a date, he'd call in Sari to come and keep a look-out for them while they worked. They really didn't need Prowl discovering what they were up to, and so far the techo-organic had proven herself capable.

Both mechs hurried out of the room and closed the door, Bulkhead lumbering off to his room to get rid of the leftover solution and clean himself off. Optimus hadn't gotten a speck of dirt on himself and decided it was best if he greeted the two himself if only to seem less suspicious. Sari came running into base and hopped up on the couch, grabbing the game console and pressing the start button to unpause the game she'd started, making it look like she'd come over not too long ago.

Barely a nanosec later, Prowl and Bumblebee rolled in through the entrance and transformed, the yellow mech immediately noticing Sari and racing over to the couch. It was no problem for the red-head to start the game over and set it to two player. Prowl sighed good naturedly and walked over to Optimus.

"Any problems while we were gone?"

"Prowl, I've told you before, you don't have to worry that kind of stuff while Bumblebee's carrying. It's more important that you're there for him." The black and gold mech gave Optimus a grateful smile and nodded, leaving Bumblebee to play with Sari while he headed for the medbay. It was about time he checked on the the progress of his sparkling's armour.

Ratchet seemed to be expecting him, looking up when his door hissed open, Prowl walking in a lot calmer than he'd been when he left. The medic smirked, knowing that look all too well by now.

"So... Bumblebee got in the mood huh?" Prowl's saunter gained an unsual stumble, the dark gray faceplates heating to a dull red.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't talk about my 'face life so casually." Ratchet chuckled, turning back to his work, hammering out the metal for the second arm guard.

"Sorry, Prowl. You've just become a different bot ever since you found out you're a father. It's refreshing, when ya look at how you used to be. A stiff, uptight, snobbish..."

"I wasn't a snob." Prowl cut-over him, scowling. Ratchet shrugged, passing the metal through a blow-torch in order to bend it.

"Could have fooled us. Anyway, I'm just sayin' it's great to see how much a sparkling can change things." Looking back at how much Bumblebee had changed, Prowl couldn't help but agree. The dark mech strode over to Ratchet's work table, picking up the semi-finished helm piece for his sparkling. She was certainly going to look more like Bumblebee with it, even having the same black line and arrow-point on top.

There was a knotch in the back for the attachment that looked like what the humans called a 'ponytail'. The attachment itself would be hollow and absorb the impact of any blow she happened to take to the back.

None of it was painted yet, but that could wait for awhile.

Giving the armour one last look over, Prowl nodded and smiled, a sight that was becoming more and more frequent as the days went on. "It looks great, Ratchet. Thank you for all your trouble."

"Aw, don't worry about it, kid. She was gonna need armour whether she came with it or had to be made. Now, you go and meditate or some other cyber-ninja slag that you do, and I'll let ya know when I'm ready to paint it." The good-natured send off was the only hint Prowl needed to know Ratchet didn't want to be disturbed anymore than was necessary.

He gave Ratchet a friendly nod and left just as quietly as he had come in. The medic drew a long cycle of air that turned into a sigh, carefully bending the metal into the shape of a small cyclinder, welding the ends together, one end tapering to a medium gap. This would be one of the arm guards by the time he was through with it.

Ratchet still had another month of work ahead of him considering the metal for the armour had only just arrived two weeks before. The armour was the only thing Prowl actually knew about and actively looked over. The rest of the base wanted the sparkling's room and the party (baby shower, as Sari had called it) to be a surprise.

The red and white mech did a quick count-up of Bumblebee's months and figured out exactly when he was due. Nearing the middle of his third orbital cycle, the scout still had another seven weeks by human standards. Three weeks before that was the planned party, on Christmas, making the sparkling's birth date at the first of the month called January. They were still in November.

Keeping it from being discovered was the greatest challenge they'd ever had.

Ratchet grumbled to himself as the cycle ticked away, "Slag it all, I'm getting too old to be worried about keeping secrets."


	20. Author's Note 2

Sooooooooo

With the free time I had last night, I came back and revisited the old profile. I found this little gem among my other, mostly forgetable stories and reread through it. Seeing what I was working on before, seeing how far it got and how close it's been to the end and how many people actually like it, I think I'm gonna attempt to finish it. Real life issues, college, and a myriad of other things have kept me from writing too much, but I feel inspired after going back over this old favorite of mine, and I would really love to see it finished.

But until then I'm going to be doing some much needed revision and proof-reading on the existing chapters. I'm not promising any new chapters soon, but I'd love to see this done as much as you all would.

Here's to hoping.

Thanks once again for your many reviews and favorites. Seeing this story get so much attention from others when I was barely paying it any mind myself has also helped in driving me to see this completed.

-Dragon


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